


Headlines

by wutthequiznack (birbsandemidogs04)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Gay Disaster Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Lots of Klance - Freeform, Multi, Oblivious Lance (Voltron), SO, aka Keith’s support group, becomes real haha, i love them, just a little bit of angst?, klance, only because, our sapphic squad is amazing, slowburn, thats accurate, they never see it coming, very slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-10-19 06:50:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17596496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birbsandemidogs04/pseuds/wutthequiznack
Summary: Lance is jealous of him. Which is stupid.He’s jealous because Keith wound up higher up on That List than Lance did, which is the weirdest phenomenon, because have the creators of that list even seen Lance McClain?He’s gorgeous. Tan, tall, lanky but with strong arms. A smile-lined face. Stubble. Shaggy hair. Everything Keith loves to gawk at when he sneaks looks at him on those days he sees him on the farm.Definitely warranting a higher up spot on the list of Top 100 Sexiest Men of the Galaxy - higher than Keith’s, at least.





	1. One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The former paladins sit down to a meal together and it gets awkward.

Lance is jealous of him. Which is stupid.

 

He’s jealous because Keith wound up higher up on That List than Lance did, which is the weirdest phenomenon, because have the creators of that list even seen Lance McClain?

 

He’s gorgeous. Tan, tall, lanky but with strong arms. A smile-lined face. Stubble. Shaggy hair. Everything Keith loves to gawk at when he sneaks looks at him on those days he sees him on the farm.

 

Keith suspects he’s higher on the list because he gets around more while Lance keeps to himself. After all, Keith been around to so many planets, he can’t keep them all straight, while Lance has opted to stick to Earth. The only brush Lance has had with crazy fans was when Voltron was performing that show around the galaxies. Keith wasn’t there for that, but he understands how fucked up it is that Lance, who loved attention and validation and who probably loved his fans, is all of a sudden washed out and forgotten, dropped a few pegs on a nonexistent ladder that somehow Keith’s climbed up further.

 

He can’t help but wonder if Lance still craves adventure and to see space and the stars — if maybe he’d consider coming back out, flying again. That could even help to move him up past Keith on That List, where he so clearly belongs. But it’s not up to him to decide. And it’s not up to him to ask.

 

So he doesn’t.

 

—

 

He learns just how jealous Lance is during one of their group meet-ups. It’s not Allura Day, but one of those halfway points where all the former paladins meet up as friends and hang out. Because all of their schedules are extremely busy, these meet ups are far and few between but make for some tearful reunions, hearty laughs, and hopeful goodbyes.

 

On this particular day Keith is off for a movement, which he usually uses to rest and work out in his old shack in preparation for his next relief mission. He’s one of the last paladins to arrive at their designated place — Romelle’s own cafe, equidistant from each of their residences. Romelle had gotten her start in baking professionally with Hunk’s guidance and the right motivation. She’s been like a younger sister to Keith since he met her and he honestly couldn’t be prouder of how far she’s come.

 

The design is an alarmingly bright shade of pink and looks very weird from the outside, but that’s Romelle.

 

He steps through into the cafe and spots the others at a round table smack in the centre. Because of the size of the place, it offers a sense of privacy from fans for the one day every six months they can all take away from their hectic lives. A tentative grin alights Keith’s face as he jogs over and takes the only remaining seat — next to Hunk and across from Lance.

 

“Keith, glad you could make it,” Shiro says cheerfully, hovering his arm across the table to clasp Keith’s. It’s been awhile since Keith’s seen Shiro and the floating arm is still new to him though it’s been part of Shiro since the end of the war. But he clasps it now with no hesitation and nods at the man he’s always considered his older brother.

 

“Me too,” he returns. “How’s Curtis?”

 

Shiro grins. Keith had been sort of baffled at how quickly he’d been able to get over Adam, but Keith can tell Shiro truly loves Curtis now and that Curtis loves him, so really there isn’t any room for him to talk.

 

“Good, good. Thanks for asking.”

 

Keith nods in return and looks round at Pidge, who’s addressed him with a question about his relief missions before he’s smiling and being pulled into a half-hug from Hunk as the chef tells him a dramatic story about a wedding he catered recently, where the cake was ruined and he baked a second in just under two hours.

 

He meets Lance’s eyes on and off during the retelling of Hunk’s story, finding that Lance seems to be upset about something. His initial quietness had Keith worried enough, but when coupled with an avoidance of eye contact he knows for certain something’s wrong.

 

He breaches the waters slightly with a soft, “Hey, Lance,”

 

Lance nods abruptly. “Keith.” he says, too fast. “How are things in Space?”

 

Keith considers this question. “Uh, good. I guess. Lots of planets still need help.”

 _Oh_ , _crap_. _This_ _would_   _probably be a good place to ask if he wants to join._ Buthonestly _,_ who is he kidding?

 

Lance’s arms are crossed suddenly. “So, nothing to report about fans?”

 

Keith blinks. This is going to be about That List. That stupid fucking list. The list of 100 Sexiest Men or whatever. 

 

“Ugh, Lance, just shut up about the list already,” Pidge groans into her milkshake. “Let it go, please.”

 

Lance frowns. “No, I will not let it go! How is it that Keith is more sexy than me? This is some bullshit!”

 

Keith’s cheeks warm only because he agrees.

 

“The fans seem to think he is,” Hunk offers with a shrug. He regards Keith thoughtfully. “I mean, you have to admit he’s hot.”

 

“I am?” Keith asks, incredulous. His eyebrows are lifting into his hairline and his cheeks are a furnace.

 

Pidge nods safely. “Yeah, even I can admit that. I’d assume it’s your ruggedness that makes the fans attracted to you.”

Her straw waves in the air as she talks, as if to punctuate her point.

 

“It _is_?”

 

“Guys,” Shiro interrupts, nursing a mug of something Keith knows is decidedly not coffee, “it’s just a stupid list. Don’t let it rip your friendship apart.”

 

Lance and Keith both pause then, and make eye contact across the table as Hunk pulls Keith into another hug.

 

“Yeah, remember how you two used to be? You guys used to compete at everything. I remember one time you competed over who could finish dinner faster.”

 

“Yeah, and I won,” Lance says proudly. Keith remembers that too. The only reason he’d stopped was because he’d been interested in seeing the fallout for Lance later, and he hadn’t been disappointed. He’d never seen that colour vomit before.

 

That was back before they’d matured. Before they’d become close. Before Keith had fallen in love with him.

 

“But then we became a team in Voltron,” Keith adds simply. He allows himself to smile. “Lance, you were my right hand man.”

 

“Yeah, it was kind of a miracle when you guys started being nice to each other,” Pidge puts in. “Like the game show? You remember that?”

 

Hunk laughs while Shiro shrugs. He hadn’t been there, but he’d certainly been briefed on it afterwards. Briefed here means “excitedly retold”.

 

“Yeah! What was the deal with you and Keith choosing each other to get out?” Hunk asks Lance.

 

Keith’s face warms. He’d thought that was forgotten. He’d hoped at the time that it was a horrible dream, but they’d all witnessed his inability to resist choosing Lance, even while he was bent on rejecting him. But that was something else.

 

Lance reflects his reaction. His cheeks turn to a rosy shade of pink, which makes Keith’s heart skip a beat. “Can we talk about something else, please?” he groans.

 

“I’m kind of curious to know, though,” Shiro says, and Keith instantly wonders if this is him getting even for something. He glares at Shiro. _This_   _is for stealing your car when I was fourteen, isn’t it?_

 

Shiro’s face seems to reflect a crystal clear response: _you bet your ass it is._

 

Shiro knows perfectly well how much Lance still looks up to him. This is pretty genius of him.

 

Keith doesn’t have an answer for it though. If he did tell Lance the real reason why he chose him - mostly to get him away and keep him away so Keith doesn’t have to see him with anyone else - he’d have to go down a whole other explanation, which he can’t stomach at this point. He clears his throat and goes with his other excuse.

 

“I just wanted Lance to be able to be with his family,” he says, and oh _fuck_ , it sounds so lame and passive-aggressive. It sounds like he’s implying that Lance had no reason to stay on the team, that he’d always been just waiting to go back to Cuba. This is exactly what he’d worked to knock down before he’d initially left the team.

 

“I mean, I know how important your family is to you,” he stutters hurriedly, facing Lance now. “And I know you’d be able to continue what we’d started as Voltron.”

 

Lance’s eyes narrow, and Keith knows he’s a goner.

 

“What _would_ I have been able to do, though?” he asks. “Seriously. Anyone would be a better choice. Pidge could like, rebuild the castle. She and her family have totally advanced tech. Hunk is the best engineer and cook in the whole galaxy, enough said. Allura -“

He pauses, his voice cracking. “Allura was the princess of the Alteans. You could’ve even chosen yourself! Like Keith, you could’ve led the Galra or whatever! But me? What do I even have to offer?”

 

It’s amazing to observe the mystery that is Lance’s self-esteem. One minute it’s sky-high and he’s cocky and somewhat arrogant. The next, he’s down on himself and wondering what people see in him. Keith’s not good with words, but even if he was, he wouldn’t be able to phrase what he sees in Lance without giving away the way he feels.

 

“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” Keith tells him simply. “Lance, think about everything you did for Voltron. We would all be dead if you hadn’t become the paladin of the blue lion.”

 

Lance seems to think about this — it’s true. Keith himself had found the cave, but it had been Lance who’d found the _lion_. Even if Keith had found the lion itself, it would have rejected him as its paladin. But this is just objective fact. It’s comfort. He can’t go into the subjective.

 

Nobody else adds anything, which increases Keith’s discomfort of the situation. Funny how it’s now that they choose to take a backseat. But when he looks up at Shiro, he reads something wise from his expression, that tells him he has to go at this alone.

 

Keith feels foreign to Lance, which shouldn’t be the case. They’d built up a delicate friendship before all this. Now it feels like they’re resorting to the way they were.

 

Not knowing what else to do, he leans across the table and touches Lance’s clasped hands, drawing his gaze over. “If anyone deserves to be high up on that list, it’s you.” he says softly. Lance’s eyes widen at that, making Keith hurriedly pull his hand away while Shiro does damage control.

 

“Like I said, it’s a silly list. Don’t let it tear your friendship apart.”

 

“Well, if I get a higher spot on the list next year, it won’t.” Lance responds, but it’s unsure somehow. Hesitant. So is his subsequent laugh.

 

Keith bites his lip as he sits back, thankful for Romelle intruding in the next second.

 

She comes over from the front counter spotting an apron that looks as if it was bathed in flour, with a large smile dashed across her face.

 

“Hello, everyone! It has been a long time, hasn’t it?” she chirps, clasping her hands as she stops near their table.

 

Keith smiles slightly. “Hey, Romelle.”

 

“How’s business?” Hunk asks.

 

Romelle nods as she responds. “It’s been great!”

Then she turns and spots Keith, as if he hadn’t been the first one to greet her. Immediately a pen and pad of paper appear in her hands. “Oh - Keith, did you want to order anything?”

 

He shrugs in return. “What do you got?”

 

“I have Altean cupcakes, pastries, milkshakes. What would you like?”

 

He orders a milkshake with some kind of Altean fruit that tastes like strawberry and lets the others take over the conversation while he waits for it. He watches Lance, of course, who’s talking and laughing, eyes shining. It’s weird how he looks like he’s on a roller coaster emotion-wise. It must be hard for him to cope.

 

Then Romelle comes by with the giant glass filled to the brim with yellow liquid (the fruit’s yellow but tastes like strawberry — completely confusing for the brain; Keith didn’t look at the fruit the first few times he tried it so as to not get the flavours and colours mixed up) and topped with a generous amount of whipped cream.

 

“Here we are!”

She plops the tray down in front of him, still smiling. He gets the feeling she’s been smiling since she left to prepare it. Yet another thing that screams Romelle.

 

Keith shoots her a half-grin. “Thanks,”

 

“You are welcome, Keith!”

She pats the back of his chair then, and a loud clatter makes him jump.

 

Romelle looks down and picks up the fallen tray so quickly that Keith doesn’t notice she’s whispering to him until he hears her. “What?” he hisses as he leans back in his chair to hear her better.

 

“Have you asked Pointy Chin out yet?”

 

He swallows hard, staring down at his lap. “ _What_? No! You’re still bugging me about this?”

 

“Until you ask him out, I will keep bringing it up,”

She says it proudly, so that if Keith turned around he’d see her smug expression. Like she thinks she knows something Keith doesn’t. Keith doesn’t have siblings, though Shiro is his best approximation of a brother, and Romelle is definitely a good approximation of a sister.

 

“He’s still mourning Allura, what’s wrong with you?” he hisses back, getting annoyed.

 

Their whisper conversation is also not going unnoticed by the others. The tray falling hadn’t kept them distracted for long, as Keith assumes Romelle hoped it would. The others are trying to start their own conversations but they’re broken by the distraction posed by the spectacle in front of them. Keith frowns.

 

“Just get back in the kitchen and make someone else’s order,” Keith pleads. “He’s not ready for love again, and I wouldn’t want to push him to do anything.”

 

Romelle is silent for a few seconds. Keith hopes she’s pondering this, that maybe she won’t keep acting so brashly. But his hopes are dashed when she blurts, “Lance, Keith says your eyes are the most gorgeous sight he’s ever beheld,” and then flees with Keith’s tray, leaving him fuming in her wake.

 

Lance turns to Keith, startled. “What did she say?” he asks, and Keith’s heart returns to a normal BPM.

 

“I dunno,” Keith shrugs.

 

Pidge leans forward in her seat, effectively crushing his dreams with a short, “She said something about you saying Lance’s eyes are the most beautiful sight you’ve ever beheld?”

 

He wants to bury his head in his hands and groan for eternity.

 

Lance grins, though. “Well, you wouldn’t be wrong,” he says cockily. For some reason Keith feels both the most annoyance towards him that he’s ever felt and the most love for him in this moment. There’s a part of him that’s frustrated Lance is completely missing the meaning of the compliment as it comes from him, while the other part of him loves that Lance knows how beautiful he is for once.

 

He can’t bring himself to deny saying it so he crosses his arms and leans back in his seat.

 

The rest of the meet up is pretty silent after that, and they all go their separate ways with the awkwardness still hanging high in the air.

 

—

 


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith gets more popular, the paparazzi get it all wrong, and Lance starts to plot.

Within a couple of months after that meetup, Keith’s fans have progressed from lists and begging for autographs to taking pictures, writing magazine articles, and requesting interviews. All of this he declines as much as possible — it’s this invasive side to being famous galaxy-wide that he dislikes, his awkwardness and general aversion to the limelight returning from his teenagerhood. He grants few interviews, answers questions on the go as the reporters and fans track him down. For the most part, he can outrun them with the rest of the Blades, beat them to their waiting cargo ship. Sometimes he takes to wearing a hood to give aid, shrouding his face, but the fans usually discover him.

 

On one particular occasion an aggressive Arusian reporter had thrust her small microphone up as high as she could get it, pursuing him for an impressive half-hour amidst a barrage of questions, like some sort of attention-starved chihuahua. He’d answered few of her questions but largely ignored her — and later that week Ezor showed him the magazine she was reading — with Keith on the front page, ducking his head slightly as he avoids the alien; his shoulder bag slumps precariously to the side and the cylinders in it almost drop out. The caption only disappointed Keith more — it read: _Keith_ _Kogane_ , _hot_ _bachelor_ _and_ _mysterious_ _former_ _paladin_. _Will_ _we_ _ever_ _get_ _through_ _to_ _him_?

 

Ezor’s smirk at him made him punch her in the arm as a cylinder of food slipped out of his arms and into the grasp of a local. “Screw off,” he muttered. “Think I want this? I can think of a million people who deserve more attention from press than me.”

 

Of course, by this he meant and means Lance. He thought he was hiding that pretty well until Zethrid groaned, throwing her head back. “Ugh, we get it. You love him. You want him to enjoy life. Whatever.”

 

“I’m that obvious?”

 

“Extremely,”

Acxa patted his shoulder.

 

“Look, if you wanna get paparazzi off your back, just stop being handsome.” Ezor added.

 

Keith’s eyebrow raised, and he mentally noted to never ask Ezor for advice in the future.

 

“But seriously, Keith,” the chameleon continued, “the only way they’ll stop chasing you is if you stop being relevant. Or cool. But it seems like, the dirtier and grimier you get, the more the fans gravitate toward you. It’s like, the less mainstream you are, the more they love you. So I don’t know what to suggest.”

 

Keith shook his head. “It’s fine. I’ll just brave it.”

 

“Let’s hope someone else steals your spot on that list, huh?” Zethrid added with a genuinely hopeful smile.

 

Keith shrugged. He was at spot eighteen at that point. He wasn’t likely to move.

 

But then he did.

 

He moved up. And so did Lance.

 

—

 

It’s the following year, when the stupid list comes out again, that Keith observes himself shoot up ten spots from eighteen to eight. Acxa, Ezor, and Zethrid are there too, but Keith can only gape at his stroke of hellish luck.

 

He and the other three are peering over Ezor’s shoulder to read the magazine in her hands. Keith’s gaze scans over his name again and again.

 

“Crap, this sucks for you, huh?” Ezor asks him, not looking back. “I thought they’d get tired after awhile chasing you and not getting anything.”

 

Keith’s eyes aren’t focusing. “Lance is gonna hate me.” he murmurs. Lance, himself, is thirtieth on the list. Before Keith had read the ranking, the recent picture, taken of him in his garden smiling for the paparazzi, had made him melt a little inside, which disproves anything that says he himself is hotter.

 

“Oh, look, Ezor, we’re the twentieth cutest couple,” Zethrid cuts him off.

 

“Twentieth?”

Ezor wrinkles her nose, scanning the list still. “We should be the first.”

 

Acxa’s arms are crossed. “There are more important matters at hand, you two.”

 

“But Acxa, you’re in here too,” Ezor smirks. “Oh, you’re number nine! Not bad.”

 

Acxa shrugs. “I suppose.”

 

She seems as excited about making high on the list as Keith does. They truly are cousins.

 

“But wait — what’s that?” Zethrid asks suddenly, just as the half-Galra cousins are about to walk away. They come back and let their gazes trail over where she’s pointing. Disgusted grimaces spread across their faces.

 

“Oh, wow.” is all Keith can say. And then, “They got it so wrong.”

 

—

 

“ _What_?” Lance’s cry just about makes all the surrounding birds fly away. “Keith and Acxa are —“

 

Veronica looks just as shocked as he does, peering at the picture of the two half-Galras in the magazine she’s holding. “They’re just walking - it’s probably fake,” she says quickly. There’s a giant part of her that really hopes it’s fake, on account of her not-so secret whopping crush on Acxa. “Yeah, the paparazzi are blowing this out of proportion. There’s no way they’re a thing.”

 

She says it more as a reassurance to herself than Lance, yet somehow Lance agrees. “You’re right,” he says, nodding. Like it matters to him.

 

Veronica rounds on him real fast. “Wait - why do you even care?

 

Lance looks vaguely flustered when he answers hurriedly, “Well, if he’s doing things that will get him more popularity, I have to do them too, otherwise I’ll never catch up to him on that list!”

 

It’s a lame excuse, and Veronica raises an eyebrow. “Hermanito, I grew up with you. I know you’re bullshitting me. Are you _jealous_ of Acxa?”

 

“It’s not like they’re actually dating!” Lance protests.

 

“Lance. You’re not listening. Answer the question.”

 

“No! Why would I be?”

 

Veronica rolls the mag back up into a cylinder and puts it in her jeans pocket. “Think about it.”

 

Lance pauses for only an instant before gasping dramatically. “You think - you think I _like_ him?”

 

“Hey,” Veronica throws up her hands. “I didn’t say it, you did.”

 

“Pfft, yeah right! I don’t know who came up with that theory, but it’s definitely not true.”

 

“Oh yeah? Just like your crush on him at the Garrison wasn’t true?”

 

She’s going there and she knows it. He’s cornered now. Like a fish, Lance gapes dumbly for a second, wallowing in betrayal, and finally closes his mouth after a few seconds. Now his face is pink.

 

“I didn’t have a crush on him then, and I don’t now,” he says firmly.

 

Veronica blows at her nails, smirking. “Oh. Well. Because a love triangle would totally get you more fans. Just a thought.”

 

There’s silence as Lance contemplates this. Then — “What do you mean?”

 

“Well, you pretending you’re jealous in the view of the press would boost you up, don’t you think? Fans love that nasty detail.”

She’s calmly peeling an orange now, as if they’re talking about the weather.

 

Lance can’t help but think.

 

—


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rumour turns to a full-fledged plan.

It’s soon time for another semi-annual meet-up, which Hunk’s taken to calling The _Half_ - _Year_ _Old_ _Paladin_ _Epic_ _Meet_ - _Up_. They meet at Romelle’s again, all pursued by some form of paparazzi but none more than Keith, who’s tailed by at least a dozen frantic photographers and people waving tape recorders to get their questions in. Keith stalks past them and ignores all of them, also not noticing the way Lance’s face contorts enviously as he watches. Only a couple of photographers are following him, but he stops for them, encouraging them to “get his good side”.

 

Hunk, being a galaxy-famous chef, also enjoys paparazzi, but not that many. More than Lance, yet less than Keith. Pidge and Shiro barely get any harassment between them, and that’s the way they both prefer it — Shiro wanting to keep his quiet life quiet, and Pidge disliking that kind of attention, having been turned off after signing thousands of autographs for various aliens around the galaxy.

 

Keith attempts to walk alongside them all into the cafe and struggles, having to stalk and stick both elbows out to ward off photographers. Hunk laughs somewhat as he remarks this from the entrance of the place. “Hey, Keith! Maybe you should get a bodyguard, man!”

 

“Oh, come on. He could be his own bodyguard.” Lance scoffs beside him.

 

“I can handle them,” Keith grits out stubbornly. He strides quicker and longer and all but swiftly reaches the entrance. As he’s about to walk in he catches Lance’s gaze and stares for a second - just a second too long, and one of those cursed paparazzi sees.

 

“Keith! Is there a love triangle between you, Acxa and Lance?”

 

It’s a feeble cry from inside the crowd by it’s heard by everyone. Keith freezes, but to his absolute surprise Lance pounces on it.

 

“Yeah, absolutely! I thought you’d have noticed that by now!” he cries unconvincingly. Hunk’s eyebrows raise and Keith’s jaw drops.

 

“Since when did-“ Hunk starts to say, but then there’s a roar of oohs among the crowd of attackers.

 

“So might there be a secret romance brewing?” the same reporter asks desperately.

 

For his part Lance winks and grabs Keith’s arm to pull him inside the cafe. “Well, I can’t speak publicly about that, now can I?”

 

Excited screams erupt from the crowd as the three rush inside Romelle’s cafe, Keith shocked beyond words.

 

As soon as they’re inside and sitting at their table Keith lunges across at Lance and nearly rips his collar off his shirt in his attempt to get closer, heart leaping. “What the _fuck_ was that?”

 

Anger flashes in his mind, accompanying running thoughts of confusion and somewhat betrayal.

 

“Relax, Keith!” Lance’s hands are up in surrender. “I’m just trying to boost my popularity here!”

 

Keith lets him go and slumps back against his chair. Everyone else is staring at them but he couldn’t care less. “Look, it’s bad enough that I’m getting rumours and shit thrown at me - hell, they think I’m dating my own _cousin_ \- but this too?”

He can’t help saying it, he’s fed up. Any cares about what he’s saying have completely flown out the window. Any anxieties about what to say are gone. And the other part he can’t admit to Lance is his heartbreak that he would use a fake relationship with him to boost his fucking fan base. It wouldn’t be so bad if Keith wasn’t head over heels for him.

 

Lance is about to crack some smartass response but then he stops. “Wait. What?”

 

“What what?” Keith mutters, arms crossed.

 

“Acxa’s your cousin?!”

 

Keith nods. “Yeah. I never told anyone because it’s none of their business, and I couldn’t be bothered to tell them off. They’re just gonna find a loophole anyway.”

 

“Holy bananas and apples,” Lance says in that infuriatingly adorable censored way of his. “So you’re single?”

 

Keith frowns. As if he’s even interested. “What does it matter, Lance? Now they think I’m having an affair with you.”

 

“No, they think I’m your side chick,” Lance corrects.

 

“What the hell is a side chick?”

 

“It’d take too long to explain. What’s more important here is that this will probably boost me up so much higher on that list.”

 

“Why are you so worried about that fucking list? It’s a superficial measure of beauty by one stupid person!”

 

Pidge nods beside him. He’d almost forgotten she was there. “Yeah, he’s right. And the people who make it up are brainless.”

 

“You don’t need _brains_ to judge beauty,” Lance retorts.

 

“Oh, my Bob, Lance,” Hunk sighs into his hands.

 

But Lance is already flitting off to another topic. “Look, just do me a solid here, Keith. Let’s play it up like we’re a thing, make it look like we’re secretly dating. And I’ll make sure to get most of the attention so you don’t get bugged as much.”

 

“How do you figure that?” Keith says wearily, though his heart is doing flips. “Lance, you’re forgetting I don’t want any attention. What would _I_ get out of it?”

 

“Yeah, and what about Acxa?” Shiro asks, newly invested.

 

Lance shrugs and picks up a milkshake in front of him. Keith’s mind flips as he watches Lance’s lips sipping from the beverage. “You’d get quality time with loverboy Lance out of it. Isn’t that enough? Handling Acxa is up to you, anyway. Pretend to break up with her or something, or you know, play the relationship up.”

 

From a logical perspective, this is an offer Keith would do well to refuse. There’s nothing in it for him at all. But if he were to follow his impulsive heart, which controls about seventy percent of his decisions, he would have to say yes. So that’s what he does, and it shocks even him.

 

“Fine,” he says.

 

Lance, taken aback, stares. “Woah, thanks, man! So all we gotta do is make sure to show a lot of PDA in public. You good with that?”

 

Keith can barely nod. It sounds like both a dream and a nightmare.

 

“Oh, yeah, and I’ll return the favour if you want — like I can bathe Kosmo or something for you or look after him while you’re up in Space.” Lance offers, surprisingly sincere.

 

Keith blinks and nods again. “Uh, sure. Thanks.”

 

Usually Kosmo follows him into space, but the idea of him staying on Earth and bonding with the man Keith has been pining after since middle school makes his heart melt.

 

“Well, then, I guess you guys are finally together,” Hunk says. He’s smiling.

 

“Yeah — wait, _finally_?” Lance says. “The Quiznak does that mean?”

 

“I’m sure you guys will figure it out once you start going out in public together,” Pidge replies cryptically.

 

Keith swears his heart is doing a marathon.

 

—

 

They find out what that means the next day. Still on Earth, Keith is staying in his desert shack until he must return to the Blades. He’s not planning on going back to hang out with the others anytime soon - his own company and that of Kosmo will suffice.

 

But of course his plans are dashed when he gets a call from Lance. He sighs as the tone rings, Kosmo’s tail going crazy, and answers on his smart watch.

 

Lance’s face appears on a holographic screen over the watch face. Even in 2D he’s radiant. Keith can’t explain it — but he has an affinity for the pixels that come together just right to project the image of one of the people he holds most dear in the world.

 

“Hey, Lance,”

 

“Keith, my man!” Lance says enthusiastically, as if there isn’t that whole tense thing between them. “What’s shaking?”

 

Keith sits hard on the couch in the center room, raises an eyebrow at the screen. “You’ve never called me.”

 

It’s true. For all the progress they’d made back before the war was over in terms of friendship — there’d been nothing to show for it afterwards. They’d been oddly distant, yet another thing slowly killing Keith inside. But it was like dirty laundry after awhile. The pile just kept getting bigger and Keith didn’t have the strength nor the will to acknowledge it so it stayed. It’s currently ceiling-high.

 

“Well, I’m trying to fix that right now.” Lance appeals. He runs a hand through his short wavy fringe. Keith hates that his breath hitches. “Look, we need to work out some sort of system or something.”

 

“System?”

 

“Yeah. If we’re going to be fake dating, then I get to be the boyfriend.” Lance continues.

 

Keith pauses. He’s way over the betrayal and hurt he feels at this whole situation. “If we’re boyfriends, then we’re both the boyfriend.” he argues. “But why do we need a system? Why don’t we just hold hands or something.”

His damn heart keeps throbbing.

 

“Not good enough,” Lance says. There’s humour in his voice. “I’m an expert on love, and I happen to know what people will and won’t buy.”

 

“Oh, really?” Keith’s tone is dry. “So what, do we need a contract?”

 

“Not a bad idea, Samurai,”

Lance is staring into the middle distance now, his gaze not focusing on the screen. Then his eyes narrow. “What are you doing?”

 

Keith pauses as if he’s been caught, but then a female voice in the foreground answers, “I’m cleaning. Is that Keith?”

 

“None of your business.” Lance retorts. Keith does his best to keep quiet - this is definitely a sibling he’s talking to. Probably Veronica.

 

His intuition proves to be right when she addresses him. “Keith, if you can hear this, I’m sorry my brother’s such a jerk, but I’m glad you’re finally a thing, fake or not!”

 

To which Lance replies, “Get _out_!”

 

Keith’s blush is deepening - he can feel it on his neck. Another person saying “finally”. Kosmo licks at his fingers, sensing his emotional distress, and Keith pets him in return, smiling reassuringly but feeling only bottomless dread in his soul.

 

“There she goes, another one saying we’re finally together. What is the deal with that?” Lance remarks.

 

Keith just clears his throat. “Not sure.”

He feels a sudden and raw desire to get off the phone. “Look, can we get this contract thing out of the way then? Just tell me what we should do in public so I know.”

 

As if this is just a casual thing that people do. Well, celebrities supposedly do it all the time. Live a different life in front of the camera than off camera. It must come easy to them. So it has to be able to come easy to him. But he’s sure there has never been an instance of one participant loving the other so much there’s an ache because it’s all fake. No way. Keith feels like nobody has ever loved anyone as much as he loves Lance. He’s loved him endlessly for over a decade, easy. Too easy. Since they were both in their late teens. It’s been so long but it’s still there raging, like a wildfire streaking across his soul, never dying. He’d be so much better off if it had died out. But the universe hates him.

 

“Well, I can’t come up with stuff just out of the blue!” Lance is protesting in the present, drawing Keith back in.

 

Keith must shoot him such a look of desperation in return because Lance stops then, and continues, “but I’ll do my best right now, I guess.”

 

Keith nods, hits the record feature of the watch, and lets Lance rattle off his points.

 

After the call is done he looks them over again.

 

  * Lance gets to be the boyfriend (whatever _that_ means)
  * Hand holding is mandatory (and not limp or anything - intertwined fingers)
  * Kissing - on the cheek is mandatory at least every time they say goodbye or greet each other in public; on the neck if they want to play up they’re canoodling; on the lips rarely, if ever - also, the person doing the kissing should switch from time to time... as randomly and erratically as possible, so as to fool everyone better
  * Hugging is optional - and when it is done, it is an embrace
  * They’ll decide when to be together - meet up in secret and accidentally “get caught” by the paparazzi



 

His heart racing again, Keith logs that all away in anticipation of what will surely be an interesting ride.


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pet names in public.

Keith feels like he’s merely existing until his first time out in public after the deal was made, which is a month later after a tiring mission with the Blades to a planet farther away than they’ve ever gone. He’s sweaty and exhausted when he lands, and yet Lance is somehow the first thing on his mind.

 

The mission had also been a bit humourous - of course, Ezor had a copy of the latest gossip and of course, Keith and Lance were on the front cover, and of course, the headline was preposterous. The picture was of them outside Romelle’s cafe that moment Lance grabbed his arm and pulled him. The strength of his grasp was visible - the fabric was pulling taut even in the picture.

 

All of them had looked puzzled as they surveyed just the front cover of the magazine, before laughing. Acxa’s head had tilted.

 

“ _Keith_ _cheating_? _Secret_ _romance_? _Find_ _out_ _more_ _inside_?” she’d read over Ezor’s shoulder. “Keith, you’re cheating on me now?”

 

Keith had allowed himself a laugh as he shrugged. “Apparently.”

 

“Hmm, with the man you can’t stop talking about, too,” Ezor had intoned with a smirk. “What’s that all about, huh?”

 

Keith had ducked his head, as he does now remembering what he’d had to tell her.

 

Ezor elbows him lightly now that they’re back on the ground, and he turns to her.

“Hey, you’d better call your boyfriend to let him know you’re back home.” she suggests, winking.

 

Keith crosses his arms. “Very funny.”

“No, seriously.”

 

She gestures to just in front of them, and Keith’s eyes follows her hand to a distant but sparse grouping of paparazzi approaching. “You might want to play it up for them.”

 

Keith pauses. That hadn’t been on the contract. Besides, what will he even say?

 

But as the photographers grow closer, he figures this is a work in progress and instead of stalk away like usual he stays and quickly opens up a call with Lance, trying to appear as if he’s hiding something. Acxa’s already wandered off so he’s “safe” — ironically, she’s probably on the phone with her own McClain. Officially, she and Veronica are just friends, but there’s something more and even Keith can see it. Luckily for Acxa, it seems to be reciprocated.

 

He frowns a little as Lance answers. “Keith? What’s going on?”

 

“Hey,” Keith stutters. The paparazzi are still just out of earshot so he chances, “I’m being watched so just go with this.”

 

Immediately Lance gets it. “ _Oh_. Hey, _mi_   _amor_. Did you just get back?”

 

Oh, shit. Keith’s done for. But just then the paparazzi get to him, and he pretends to the best of his abilities that he’s frazzled and “caught”.

 

“Guys, can you not do that right now?” he murmurs like he’s got a reason to be quiet. The cameras go on flashing, like he’d expected. Even better. “Look, I’m on the phone. Can you not?”

 

In response a tall human interviewer thrusts a microphone over. “Keith, is that your boyfriend?”

 

Keith flashes a not-so-kind gesture (he can’t make out at this point whether or not it’s to play up the act) and makes to stalk away, just as Lance loudly pipes up,

“What’s going on, babe?”

 

At this, hoots and hollers ring out among the crowd. Keith frowns hard but inside there’s a thrill from being called babe by Lance McClain, even though he doesn’t mean it. He does his best to evade them and push deeper against the current to leave, but of course, he’s followed.

 

“Nothing, darlin,” he tells Lance, heart tripping over nothing. “Just those annoying-ass paparazzi.”

 

He’s out of breath too from everything that’s going on, and finds the camera flare irritating. The fact that he’s doing this really proves how much he loves Lance. Or how much he loves that he loves Lance. He knows there’s a selfish side to it.

 

“Oh, I’ll let you go then,” Lance says. “Good luck.”

 

He hangs up then and the clamour of the crowd reaches a crescendo, a million questions asked at once, a million cameras flashing.

 

“Keith! Do you love Lance?” one reporter asks. For some reason that’s the only one he can focus on, probably because it’s the only question he can answer in the affirmative.

 

But he doesn’t. He ignores them and calls for a taxi.

 

—

 

He’s in the supermarket a couple of days later with Romelle, who’s insisted on accompanying him as she too needs food. They’re in line for the self-checkout, talking about business at Romelle’s cafe, when she begins to laugh. Keith follows her eyes to the case of magazines near the front counter and sighs.

 

One of the most prominently displayed mags has him on the cover, his phone up by his ear and a frown pinching his brows. The largest headline reads: _Keith_ _Kogane’s_ _new_ _secret_ _lover_ _is_ _Lance_ _McClain_? _Read_ _all_ _inside_!

 

Romelle snorts, shoulders shaking. “You’re cheating on Acxa with Pointy Chin? Well, at least you asked him out.”

 

Keith rubs his chin hard, sets his basket down so he can roughly bag his items. “It’s all wrong,” he tells her, murmuring it so nobody else hears. “I’m single. Acxa’s my cousin.”

 

“So how did Lance get involved in this?” Romelle continues as she begins bagging her own items beside him.

 

“It’s complicated. He wants to be more popular so he’s pretending he’s my secret lover.”

 

Romelle looks perplexed, before her confusion turns to sympathy. “Oh, he really is oblivious, isn’t he?”

 

Keith doesn’t respond. He’s finished bagging the items now and moves past her to walk out of the store, stopping only to turn the magazine over so only its back is showing, as he leaves.

 

—

Keith’s back in Space a week later when he gets a call from Lance. It’s really not a convenient time — he’s handing out supplies to dozens of aliens and warding off paparazzi at the same time — but if there’s one thing he can’t do, it’s say no to Lance. So he picks up.

 

Lance’s hologram hovers above his watch and his beautiful beaming face alights on Keith. “Hey, handsome, where are you?” he’s asking, embellishing. Exaggerating. Pretending. Oh, yeah. That’s right - this is all an act.

 

Keith scratches the back of his neck. He certainly doesn’t miss the scattered oohs from the crowd of photographers and aliens alike. “Babe, what are you doing?” he hisses, suddenly remembers Acxa is standing only a few feet away with her own crowd of needy aliens. He makes to shield the image away from her and anyone else. It’s amazing how easy it is to pretend all of a sudden.

“You can’t call me while I’m on missions.”

 

“Mm, but I missed you,”

 

Fuck, Lance is going to well and truly be the death of him. That 0.000001% of heterosexuality he might have had? Totally decimated, as far as Keith’s concerned.

 

He bites his lip unintentionally and almost _moans_ with the strength of all his bottled emotions. “I missed you too, alright. We’ll figure out where to meet, huh?”

 

This part he murmurs in a way that anyone could catch it they got close enough. “I’m gonna let you go. Bye.”

he says abruptly, and hangs up.

 

Zethrid, Ezor and Acxa heard the whole thing and now all side-eye him in the same suspicious way.

 

He shoves a cylinder into a civilian’s hands, face burning.

 

—

While flying home he receives a text from Lance — a follow-up.

 

 _Sup_? _We_ _actually_ _gonna_ _plan_ _that_ _date_?

 

Keith’s heart leaps and does some cartwheels. His eyes are wider than they’ve ever been. Even if this is fake, the impossibility of it excites him.

 

His hands start to shake - how lame.

 

“Hey, you okay, Keith?” Ezor asks across the narrow aisle keeping them apart. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

 

Keith swallows. “Yeah, fine, fine.”

 

His thumbs are hovering over the screen of his phone, unsure, awkward.

 

He ends up going with: _yea_ _you_ _want_ _to_?

 

Lance: _ready_ _when_ _u_ _r_ _Samurai_ 😉

 

Keith’s heart even leaps at that small winking face. What the fuck is wrong with him.

 

He doesn’t notice the three observing him text until Zethrid guesses, “You’re talking to Lance, huh?”

 

Keith looks up and nods blankly. “Yeah. So?”

 

“Nothing,” she shakes her head.

 

“Oh, are you texting Lance?” Ezor cries excitedly, and for the second time Keith nods.

 

“And?”

 

“What about?”

Ezor is smiling in the way that a shark would stare at its dinner.

 

“None of your business,”

 

“Here, give it to me. You don’t strike me as the kind who knows how to text.”

Ezor holds out a hand, flicking her wrist.

 

Keith frowns. “Gee, thanks.”

But then she grabs it from him and starts scrolling through the message history before he can protest. Having somewhat expected this, Keith doesn’t.

 

“Oh, my Bob - a winky face?” Ezor cackles. Zethrid and even Acxa are peering over her shoulder. “He definitely likes you.”

 

Keith crosses his arms. “He’s just playing it up.” he scoffs. There’s nothing he wants more than to believe that’s true, but it isn’t, so there’s no use getting his already-vulnerable heart broken.

 

But Ezor’s back to the phone, her face lined with conspiratorial thought. “Hmm, a date?”

 

“Yeah. Now give me my phone back.” Keith snaps defensively.

 

“Relax,” Zethrid says, laughing. “This a plan to lure paparazzi in?”

 

Keith nods grudgingly. “Don’t rub it in.”

 

Acxa’s head is tilted, her hair spilling over one ear. “Would you like me to help? Perhaps I could show up and break off our relationship?”

 

“Yeah, that’s a good idea!” Ezor remarks. She stares down at his phone again, a smirk on her face.

 

Keith shrugs. “I dunno.”

 

“No, look, I’ll text him for you.”

Her fingers fly across the screen, typing out a message and sending it with finality.

 

Keith scrabbles across to get the phone, eyes wild. “What did you write?!”

 

Ezor smiles. “Aww. It’s cute how much you care what he thinks of you.”

 

Once the phone’s in his hands, Keith peers at the screen and finds Ezor’s typed out and sent, _heyyy_ _know_ _what_ _would_ _be_ _a_ _good_ 💡??? _we_ _should_ _have_ _Acxa_ _break_ _up_ _w_ / _me_ _in_ _public_ _during_ _the_ _date_ _hm_????

 

Immediately his head is in his hands. “You couldn’t have written that less like me. I sound drunk.”

 

Ezor crosses her arms. “Oh, come on. That was _totally_ in character.”

 

“I don’t use emojis!”

 

“You do now.”

 

Keith blinks as his phone vibrates, and his cheeks redden in embarrassment.

 

“Fuck.”

 

“What did he say?” Zethrid leans across the aisle.

 

He holds the phone up and studies it. “He said _sounds_ _like_ _a_ _good_ _idea_. But with a lightbulb instead of the word.” He glares at Ezor. “Great, thanks for encouraging that.”

 

“You’re welcome,” she responds sweetly.

“And see? He didn’t even notice the text was different.”

 

Keith is skeptical, but doesn’t respond.

 

So it’s settled. Acxa will secretly accompany him to the place he and Lance are to meet up, and break up with him in public, leaving him and Lance to be together. It’s foolproof.


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The break up plus a future date!

“You here?”

 

Keith nods to the phone tilted horizontally in his hand. He’s crouching in the bathroom of Romelle’s cafe though he doesn’t have to, because nobody else is in it. “Yeah. I’m here.”

 

“Where?”

 

“In the bathroom,” Keith replies. “Are the paparazzi still outside?”

 

“Yup,”

Lance is murmuring now. Keith assumes he doesn’t want the photographers to overhear their conversation - it would definitely give them away.

 

“Okay, I have Acxa waiting in the women’s bathroom for the signal. I’m coming out now.”

 

Cautiously he shoves against the bathroom door, pushing it open and immediately getting barraged by flashes of light coming from outside the cafe, shining through the windows. Shielding his arm he ignores the lights as best he can and heads over to where Lance is sitting, in the dead centre of the floor. Though the brightness of the cameras flashing makes his eyes blur, Keith can still make out Lance. He could make him out in a crowded room - such is his love.

 

“Hey,” he says quietly as he sits down across from him, stares at the table.

 

“Aren’t you going to kiss me?” Lance asks. Keith’s heart just about stops.

 

 _It’s_ _just_ _an_ _act_. _It’s_ _just_ _pretend_. _It’s_ _not_ _real_.

 

He leans across, takes Lance’s face in his hands, and presses a kiss to his cheek where the stubble is. He’s certain Lance can hear the pounding of his heart. Hell, even the paparazzi can probably hear it.

 

He sits back down and he knows his face is probably on fire. He catches Lance staring at him as he does. Ugh, he’s probably completely giving himself away.

 

“What?” he asks, defensive, and Lance clears his throat.

 

“Nothing. Uh. Look,”

He turns suddenly, away from Keith, looks out the windows. “They’re going crazy for us.”

 

Keith blinks at the brightness. His hand waves at the crowd dismissively. “I wish this place had curtains.”

 

Lance only waves at the people, grinning, so Keith pulls out his phone and texts Acxa a single word, “Ready.”

 

She bursts out of the bathroom so fast he can hear the door swing back and crash against the wall, and though it’s all pretend his sense of fear increases.

 

Both men turn to her as she strides over to them and stops, hands on her hips. “What the hell, Keith?! Care to tell me what on Earth is going on here?”

 

Keith peers up at her. This is really an award-worthy performance. “What are you talking about?” he asks, as per the superficial script they’d devised. “I’m just here enjoying my lunch.”

 

“I _saw_ you kiss him.”

Acxa crosses her arms. “So the rumours are true. You told me they weren’t.”

 

Keith wants to laugh but he can’t. He can show no indication that this might be fake. Meanwhile the cameras keep flashing. “Yeah. They are. I’m in love with Lance.”

 

For his part, Lance gives a wave with a suggestive smile. “And I bet I’m way better in bed than you are,” he adds.

Keith’s blush escalates to his ears and he kicks him under the table.

 

With a huff Acxa storms off and out the doors. Keith can barely make out what she’s yelling as she goes, but it’s probably the angry exposure of all of Keith’s “secrets” to the public that Ezor had suggested she use, which are designed to further steer them off the right track.

 

Lance is laughing now — the paparazzi attention is temporarily on Acxa and so they’re okay to break character now for a bit. “That was hilarious! Think we fooled them?”

 

Keith stares into his eyes — those same eyes he’d fallen into years ago and hasn’t been able to get out of. “Yeah. Hopefully.”

 

He gets a sudden urge to kiss Lance. It would be so easy. All he would have to do is lean across the table and take his face in his hands and pull him over, taste him for a few seconds. He could even claim it’s for the magazines. But he can’t.

He won’t.

 

Even a tragically oblivious person like Lance doesn’t miss the brief but heavy lust in Keith’s eyes as he’d contemplated the kiss that’s never meant to be.

 

—

 

It’s shortly after that first “date” that the magazines start to churn out more and more evidence and photos to point to Lance and Keith’s relationship. In newspapers, on phones - it’s everywhere. Soon almost everyone on Earth knows of the scandalous affair. Keith is traumatized at some point to receive questions about it from Krolia, Kolivan, and Curtis.

 

“Mom, it’s fake,” he tells Krolia at that point, knowing she’s one of the rare moms who can actually keep a secret. “We’re just pretending so Lance can be more popular.”

 

“But why? What reward is there for you?” she asks. He can practically hear the complexity in her voice.

 

“Spending more time with him,” he says softly, because it’s true. She knows of his crush on Lance — she’s known since she met him and they saw the vision of Lance and Allura together in the Quantum Abyss. Keith doesn’t dwell on the pain he’d felt beholding that for the first time.

 

“Oh. My poor child.” Krolia says. “I hope one day this will all prove worth it.”

 

“Yeah, me too,” he responds. But for now, this is how it has to be.

 

Fake.

 

-

 

The month after that first “date” with Lance, Lance’s spot on the List is boosted up to tenth while Keith’s is at the second. Unaware of this for his stern avoidance of these magazines, Keith learns this over text — from Lance.

 

He’s playing fetch with Kosmo in his yard when his phone chimes in his pocket. Holding up a finger to the dog he unlocks it and discovers the excited message:

 

 _Omg_ Keith _it_ _worked_!!! _Have_ _u_ _bought_ _any_ _mags_ _lately_??

 

Keith’s thumbs fly fast over the keys.

 

Keith: _Wait_ _what_? _Mags_?

 

Lance: _As_ _in_ _Magazines_?

 

Keith: _Yea_ , _I_ know _what_ _mags_ _stands_ _for_. _I_ _meant_ _what_ _worked_?

 

Lance: _so_ _u_ don’t _read_ _any_ _magazines_. _Huh_. _Woulda_ _pegged_ _u_ _for_ _a_ _sports_ _illustrated_ _guy._

 

Keith huffs, frustrated.

 

Keith: _fucking_ _spit_ _it_ _out_ _already_

 

Lance: _language_! _Geez_. _Well_ _mr_ _grumpy_ _pants_ , _I’ll_ _have_ _u_ _know_ _I_ _am_ _now_ @ _tenth_ _spot_ _on_ _the_ _list_ _of_ _Sexiest_ _Men_!

 

Without realizing he’s saying it out loud, Keith laughs and remarks, ”It’s about time.”

 

Kosmo tilts his head, so Keith throws his ball far, watching the wolf teleport in mid-air to catch it.

 

But then -

 

Keith: _I_ _haven't_   _moved_ _have_ _I?_

 

Lance: _unfortunately_ , _yeah_. _Ur_ _still_ _beating_ _me_. _Ur_ @ _second_.

 

Keith: _fuck_.

 

So that’s that. The consequence that comes with him helping Lance is that he’s getting more popular too.

 

He’s about to put his phone back in his pocket when Lance texts him again.

 

Lance: _sooo_. _We_ _should_ _probs_ _meet_ _up_ _again_ _huh_

 

Keith: _sure_. _Where_?

 

He smiles in spite of himself — this honestly feels like it’s real for a split second.

 

Lance: _I_ _have_ _a_ _place_ _in_ _mind_.


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They kiss... but wait. Didn’t they say lip kisses are supposed to be rare?

Turns out the place Lance has in mind is one of Hunk’s restaurants. Keith’s conscious of his appearance but only has one type of outfit and so it will have to do. He makes a mental note to ask Romelle to shop with him later and show him what he should be wearing, because when it comes to fashion, Keith sucks.

 

When he arrives — as secretly as possible — he’s able to beat the paparazzi to his table, where Lance is waiting. As they’re in public, Lance pulls him in and kisses his lips, and Keith has a mini heart attack where he freezes and almost melts both at once before realizing when he breaks away that this is all for the paparazzi. And then he sees a camera flash in the corner and he knows they pulled it off.

 

He sits back down, still somewhat stunned.

 

“What’s up, baby?” Lance asks. He’s grinning. Then he leans in close again and whispers, “Thanks for that, by the way.”

 

Keith can barely nod. “No - Ahem. No problem.”

 

“So what’s been going on? You’ve been in Space?”

 

Keith lays his crossed arms on the table. “Yeah. You know how it is.”

 

Just normal, everyday conversation, as if they’re a normal, everyday, real couple.

 

If only.

 

Lance is leaning on one hand as he gazes at him. _Wow_ , _he’s_ _really_ _playing_ _it_ _up_. “Mm-hmm,”

 

Keith clears his throat, flushing.

“Yeah, I, uh. I went to the planet -“

 

Suddenly Lance’s hands fall atop his on the table, stopping his breath. He then proceeds to laugh high and loud as Keith watches, bewildered and flustered.

 

“Are you on something?” he hisses after awhile.

 

“No, idiot,” Lance grits out, still smiling. “Just playing it up for our paparazzi. Gotta act like we’re in love, right?”

 

That exact sequence of words makes Keith’s stomach turn. His hands shift slightly under Lance’s. “But for how long?” he asks quietly. His gaze is down by their hands — it’s breaking his heart ever-so-slightly that they’re only intertwined to convince others they’re in love. It almost makes him ache for a reality where he isn’t familiar with this kind of bruising, pining love for Lance. He knows if he continues to go along with this for too long, it could damage his heart forever.

 

Lance shrugs. “I don’t know. It could be a while, Keith. Just until I get popular enough on my own, I guess.”

 

Keith bites his lip and nods.

 

“Why?” Lance asks suddenly. He sounds concerned, which makes Keith’s head dart up as he stares into his eyes again. “Is this really uncomfortable for you? I mean, I know we planned this and everything but I didn’t really, you know, ask what _you_ want. And I know you hate paparazzi, so if you really don’t want to do this we could always break up and I could —“

 

“Lance. It’s okay.” Keith interrupts him. Fuck, he _really_ wants to kiss him now. He manages a smile, notices that they’re only inches apart, both leaning across the table and staring at each other. Keith’s gaze runs over every inch of Lance’s face, lingers on his lips before returning to his eyes. “We can do this.”

How does he explain away that it’s only because he’s painfully in love with him that he’s reluctant to do this?

“I just - don’t really know how to act? I’ve never been good at lying.”

Well, that’s sort of true.

 

Lance leans back and grins. “Oh, well, I can teach you. With four siblings, you’ve gotta lie once in a while.”

 

Keith feels the absence of his hands like cold wind. He tucks his hands back into his lap and nods as the waiter comes over. “Sure.”

 

-

 

The meal is surprisingly nice. Of course, it’s all fake, but he and Lance talk like friends, sort of the way they used to. Keith aches for that too. He can settle for just being Lance’s friend in private. But he hadn’t been able to focus much on Lance’s advice when the latter had kept touching him — on the shoulder, the face, stroking his hair, his clavicle, his hands — all while maintaining perfect eye contact.

 

He knows his face is red during the whole meal. At the end of it, Lance insists on paying, and when he turns to pull out his wallet Keith is ambushed by a lone reporter. She is a human, older looking in age, wearing a trench coat and wielding a microphone. She’s standing right in front of him as if to block his path out of the restaurant.

 

“Keith, are you on a date?” she’s asking.

 

Keith ignores her question and brusquely waves her away.

 

“Are you and Lance in love?” she tries again. This time Keith turns fully away from her, faces Lance again.

 

But Lance is frowning as he pauses in paying. “And so what if we are? Is that really any of your business?”

 

The reporter quickly shrinks away after that, as fast as she had come. Keith can’t help but gaze at Lance. “You sure do know how to handle them for someone who wants to be seen by them.” he notes. In his mind it comes out in a dreamy tone, like he’s totally in love, as he is.

 

“There’s nothing wrong with being assertive,” Lance points out. “And besides, if anything, this will make them more interested. If there’s one thing I learned with girls, it’s that the more you tell them no, the more into you they are.”

 

At the mention of girls Keith sours a bit. “Oh, I’m sure,”

 

“Don’t you find that?”

They’re getting up to leave now, grabbing their cardigans.

 

Keith shakes his head, almost laughs. “I wouldn’t know.”

 

“Oh, you just gotta get out there.” Lance suggests.

 

“Somehow I don’t think that’s gonna help.”

 

“Why not?”

They’re walking toward the exit. “Don’t be chicken. You’ve got tons of girls just begging for you to be with them.”

 

“Well, for one thing, I’m with you,” Keith tells him. He needs to wait until they’re outside the restaurant to complete that sentence.

 

“You could always take a secret girlfriend.” Lance suggests, wiggling his eyebrows. They push open the doors to the cold exterior, waving to Hunk as they go, and finally they’re outside, out of earshot.

 

Keith stops Lance walking abruptly. It’s then that he notices the reporter girl and her camera guy sneaking out behind them, moving to an inconspicuous space in order to spy without being noticed. Little do they know that training with the Blades has its perks. It’s something akin to the Jedi in that old film series, _Star_ _Wars_. Trained to hear anything and everything, because one is always in danger of assassination. Right now Keith’s in danger of the assassination of his fake reputation.

 

So with one quick movement Keith obliterates everything. He pulls Lance in close by his collar, whispers, “I’m gay,” into his ear, and proceeds to grip him into the most intoxicating kiss of his life. If Lance is surprised, it doesn’t last long. His hands come to life and hold Keith’s waist and he feels more secure than he’s ever felt. And now Keith _knows_ it’s all fake because a kiss this good with Lance McClain is definitely too good to be true. He pulls back from Lance after a while. Before he can let himself get carried away and sneak his tongue in, maybe moan for all the years he’s gone waiting for this.

 

Lance is completely and utterly stunned. It almost makes Keith smile. He’s made the great Lance McClain speechless. The great, loud, boisterous, annoying Lance McClain is speechless.

 

He leans in again but only to whisper, “Let’s see how that does with the magazines, huh?”


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An anniversary for the ages.

The kiss does extremely well. After the reporter puts out her image of them kissing, many others join in as they take the image and tweak it in different ways to fit their own version of events. In any case, Lance and Keith are undeniably a couple. And as such, both are bugged constantly by everyone they know.

 

Keith’s back in Space a couple of days after the kiss, and of course, Ezor and Zethrid are on him about it.

 

While they’re handing out supplies Ezor slides over and bumps into his shoulder with her own. There’s a smirk on her face. He already knows what’s coming. “I already know what you’re gonna say,” Keith tells her, “and you can save it.”

 

Ezor spreads her arms wide, offers a canister to an alien in front of her. “Well, dude — you _kissed_ him! I don’t know much about doctoring photos, but that looked pretty real to me.”

 

At this many of the aliens they’re helping start to whoop suggestively. Keith glares. His hackles raise. “It was just a kiss.”

That’s all he’ll allow. It wasn’t _just_ a kiss, no more than he’s _just_ in love with Lance. It’s never _just_ anything. That kiss was his first kiss with Lance McClain, and probably his last. And it was for an act. They might as well both be actors in a movie for how much it actually counted.

 

Ezor nods skeptically. “Mm-hmm. Sure. Just like how Zethrid and I are _just_ friends.”

 

But then he makes eye contact with her across the way and she flashes worry in her eyes, which tells him that she gets that it’s sensitive and that they’ll revisit this under more private circumstances. He would have just settled for dropping the subject and never bringing it up again, but knowing Ezor, they’ll have to discuss it again.

 

Which is exactly what they do.

 

As soon as the four of them climb into their pod to travel back to Earth the following Quintant, Ezor’s on him like a tick, draining the blood and will from him.

 

She moves to sit next to him right before the pod takes off, and then leans up to him, smiling innocently. If he didn’t know her, he would probably trust her with what was in his brain, but as he does know her and can see right through her chameleon-like persona (which directly matches her abilities), he’s passing hard.

 

“So???” she says expectantly.

 

Keith barely maintains eye contact. “So what?”

 

She shoves him. “You know what. That kiss. Spill.”

 

“There’s nothing to spill. You all saw it. I kissed him. It was for the act. End of story.”

 

“It was pretty deep, though. Like, dare I say, tongue?” Zethrid adds.

 

Keith’s face contorts in embarrassment. “None of your business!”

 

“Ahh, so there _was_ tongue.” Ezor smirks. “Nice, Keith.”

 

“Why is it nice?” Keith blusters. “I don’t feel good about it, in fact I hate that I had to do it. You know how I feel about him.”

 

Ezor, Zethrid and Keith all fall silent then, but Acxa leans across the aisle to put a hand on his shoulder. And that’s it. That’s all she does, but it makes him feel so much better.

 

Zethrid shrugs and offers a gruff, “Sorry, kiddo.”

 

Ezor says nothing the whole rest of the ride down to Earth — until they get close.

 

“You should call him.” is what she suggests, and Keith almost rolls his eyes.

 

“Why, so I can convince people even more that we’re together?”

 

“No. Just so you can hear his voice.”

 

Keith stops then and considers this. His stomach flips briefly before he pulls out his phone and dials Lance, not allowing himself to hesitate.

 

“Hello?”

 

Keith’s face relaxes into a smile. “Hey. It’s me. Keith.”

 

Lance scoffs. “Keith, I know it’s you. I got caller ID.”

 

“Oh.” Keith’s cheeks flash red. “Okay.”

 

“So what’s up?”

 

“Uh. Nothing. I’m - I’m coming home now from Space again.”

It’s so hard to get the words out. He tries his hardest to block out Ezor, Zethrid and Acxa staring intently at him during the whole conversation.

 

“Oh! That’s cool. I just dusted - oh, my gosh. Sylvio. Stop that right now.”

The phone sounds as if it’s being settled onto a hard surface and then Keith hears Lance arguing with a child, supposedly his nephew.

 

“Everything okay?” he asks.

 

He exchanges a look with Acxa before looking back at the phone as Lance answers, sounding frazzled.

 

“Yeah, my nephew is just climbing on the kitchen table, I. He’s eleven.”

 

“Is that old to be climbing on stuff?” Keith raises an eyebrow.

 

“Just a sec. _Veronica_! _Venga_ _cuidan_ _de_ _Sylvio_!”

 

Keith holds the phone away from his ear too late and gets deafened by the Spanish that curls off Lance’s tongue like it’s nothing. He’s never heard Lance speak his native tongue so much before, and it makes him fall so much more in love.

 

A smirk finds its way onto his face.

 

“Okay. I’m back. So what did you want?”

 

“I’ve never heard you speaking that much Spanish before.”

 

“No? I feel like I have before. I mean, I used to speak it all the time on the castleship.”

 

Keith shakes his head. “No. Don’t remember.”

 

“Anyway, what was it you needed?” Lance goes on. “There was something you needed, right?”

 

Alarmed, Keith looks round at Ezor and shrugs. What kind of excuse can he make up in so little time?

 

“Uh, no.” he says instead. Oh _fuck_.

 

“Oh. Well. Okay.”

 

There’s silence for a bit, before Keith adds impulsively, “You’re my friend, Lance. I guess I just wanted to hear your voice.”

 

“Aww. That’s nice. You gonna meet me up somewhere public? We can have another lunch.”

 

“Sure.”

 

“Alright. I’m thinking... you know what? No. It’s gonna be a surprise. Let’s pretend it’s our anniversary.”

 

Keith heart friggin jumps. Holy _shit_.

 

“Okay.”

He’s so far gone, and he knows it.

 

—

 

The coordinates Lance sends him lead him to a small restaurant tucked away in a corner of the Earth, called _Havana_ _from_ _Heaven_.

 

But before he goes Romelle gets a very anxious call from him, to which she responds immediately by taking him to the Space Mall. There, she has him try on some semi formal outfits and they’re able to agree on only one.

 

He flies to the restaurant in the same skiff he’d used to rescue Shiro and all the other paladins way back when. He couldn’t have known then what was to happen now, that that lanky but cute one in the back of the skiff is Lance McClain and he’ll fall completely in love with him one day. He didn’t know that at all. All he was concerned with was getting the hell away from the Garrison.

 

Now taking off the huge helmet Keith takes barely a second to admire the outside of the building.

 

It’s styled almost like a hut - it’s modelled after a shack, Keith assumes - and has neon writing curling the name of the restaurant around the straw atop the hut. Getting anxious about being late or attracting more paparazzi than necessary, Keith strides inside the place — the door is a simple archway, possibly meant to replicate some beachy feel — and finds it’s almost packed.

 

The social anxiety winds its way through Keith’s mind and down to his heart. The place is hazy with the amount of people inside — at the bar immediately next to the entrance, at the tables scattered around the place. It’s only when Keith spots Lance waving at the back that his heart seems to calm. He smiles soft and sincere, jogs, and slides into the wooden booth Lance has picked out.

 

He should expect Lance getting up to kiss him before he sits down, but still, it catches him off guard. Besides, this kiss is on the lips, like the last one — new territory. His face reddens as fast as a sunset leaks across a darkening sky.

 

But Lance is laughing. “Hey, you got to do it. It’s my turn.”

 

Keith clears his throat and looks down. “So. Happy anniversary.”

 

He can’t bring himself to look up. This feels like cheating. It feels so real and yet so fake, too good to ever be a thing. They could never have this in reality.

 

Lance’s hands land on his on the table. It’s a small, round table like those ones in the food court at the Space Mall. Keith can’t help but look up now. “Happy anniversary, babe.”

 

Then Lance leans in, whispering, “We’re doing it!” so close to Keith’s ear, he gets shivers all over his body.

 

They sit back down and Keith’s glad when Lance initiates conversation again so he doesn’t have to. If there’s one thing Keith doesn’t know how to do, it’s that.

 

“That a new outfit I see? Old one-outfit Keith is two-outfit Keith now?”

 

Keith shrugs. “Romelle made me wear it.” he lies. As if Romelle had been the neurotic freak pacing up and down worried about how everything was going to go.

 

“Romelle has good taste,” Lance says.

 

“I guess.”

 

“So how’s Space, hottie?”

 

Keith squints. “ _Hottie_?”

 

“Ran out of pet names,” Lance shrugs. “Why, would you prefer I called you something in Spanish? ‘Cause I have a bunch of those, and they’d probably sell the ship way better.”

 

Keith’s heart can’t handle all of this. Seriously. “Uh, sure. Whatever.”

 

Lance’s hands worm their way out of Keith’s. “You’ve gotta act more enthusiastic than that,” he tells him, as if he doesn’t know who Keith is. “But then again, you _are_ Keith.”

Ah. There it is.

 

Keith fiddles with his fingers and looks down at the table again. “Yeah. Lone wolf Keith.”

 

“Still the same as always.” Lance adds.

 

Something about that ignites a spark in Keith - an angry, defensive spark, and he wants to grab Lance and punch him for some reason. He settles for murmuring, “I’ll go along with it, but I’m not gonna be enthusiastic about everything. Believe me, I’m just as nervous as you are.”

 

“I’m not nervous,”

Lance leans back the way he does when he’s lying, his voice squeaking. “Why would I be nervous?”

 

Keith meets his eyes only to stare at him, trying to convey some deadpan emotion. “I’m not gonna answer that.”

 

Lance still looks confused. Quickly Keith backtracks, “Look, forget I said anything about being nervous. Let’s just sell this anniversary.”

 

Without hesitation Lance lunges and takes his face in his hands, kissing him so hard his lungs almost burst. Keith’s shock wears off after only a few seconds and then he’s tonguing his way into Lance’s mouth, past his lips, pausing on the edge of a euphoric moan because _fuck_ , it isn’t real. Lance is a performer. Of course this isn’t real. It’ll never be real. His eyes open again and he pulls away, gazes at Lance.

 

“Like that?” Lance jokes, and Keith nearly faceplants right into the table.

 


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has some revelations and Keith invites him to the shack for strictly friendly pizza.

Lance wouldn’t be lying if he didn’t admit he was fucking with Keith’s brain somehow, because it’s possible he has no idea he’s doing it. Actually, it’s completely probable.

 

Rachel’s got a copy of some magazine and she’s reading it at the kitchen table, feet up on top of it because Mamá’s tending to Luis’s kids out of the room. Lance is staring at his phone at the same table.

 

Suddenly Rachel leans back in her tilted chair and falls off, the chair crashing to the ground. Lance jumps and stares down at her as she lies there for a bit with a stunned expression on her face.

 

Lance cocks his head and starts to laugh. “Wow, I cant believe you’re just as clumsy now as you were when we were kids.”

 

Rachel throws an arm over to catch the table and pull herself up. Glaring now, she shoves at him. “Fuck you. That was shock, actually. I fell backwards in shock because of what’s in this magazine - about _you_.”

 

“It’s about my date with Keith, right? I already know.”

 

“I still don’t know how _you_ scored with him and I didn’t.” Rachel laments. “I mean, I’m obviously the more attractive twin.”

 

Lance holds himself back from telling her that Keith doesn’t exactly swing that way. It’s honestly none of her business. “You? C’mon, Rach, who’re you kidding? I’m the most good-looking twin here.”

 

Ever since they were born there’s been a constant competition at every stage of life - who was better at sports and school, who was Mamá’s favourite (which is still hotly debated), and now who’s more attractive. Well, that had started back when they first became teenagers.

 

Rachel sticks her tongue out in a very juvenile fashion.

 

“Why are we even arguing about this?” Lance questions. “We look exactly the same. Like, you’re me with more hair.”

 

Rachel sighs. “Thanks for implying I look like a twenty year-old man.”

 

“Well, you do. And I look like a twenty year-old woman.”

 

They look at each other and burst into laughter at that, and suddenly it’s like old times again.

 

“But seriously.” Rachel says after awhile. She lays the magazine down on the table so the headline is facing upwards. “I gotta hold a grudge against you for stealing my man.”

 

“He was never yours to begin with,”

Lance deems haughtily. “His heart always belonged to me.”

It’s funny how that’s probably not true at all. Keith’s probably into some guy he met on a distant planet.

 

Wait. Why does he care about that?

 

Rachel socking him in the arm again forcefully snaps him out of that. He rubs his arm and glares, watches her sit properly in her chair. “So. What’s he like?”

 

Lance’s hand goes to scratch his neck. “What do you mean?”

 

Rachel’s invested now. He can see it on her face. She wants to dirty details. But he won’t oblige her that easily. “You know. Does he open doors for you? Like, bring you flowers?”

 

Lance rolls his eyes. “I’m not a girl. I’m not mushy like that. How do you know I don’t bring _him_ flowers?”

 

“Okayyyy, does he call you pet names? Has he said the three magic words yet? What’s he like in bed?”

 

With each question her eyes get bigger and bigger, and after the third Lance’s widen too. “ _Rachel_!”

 

“Well, I can’t have him so you’re gonna have to tell me what he’s like.” she shrugs. “So??”

 

Lance sighs. “Sometimes to the first one, yes to the second, and you’re _nasty_ for the third one.”

They’re completely made-up answers, just like his completely made-up relationship.

 

Rachel nods. “Alright. I can work with that. What do you mean, sometimes?”

 

“Like he calls me, um.”

At this Lance hesitates and turns red for some reason. It’s embarrassing. That must be why. “ _Darling_ , but with like a Texan accent. But that’s not all the time.”

 

Rachel’s smiling so wide he thinks she might crack her face. “Aww, that’s so cute! God, you’re so lucky.”

 

“Yeah,” he agrees half-heartedly.

 

But his mind is running a race - why is he acting so flustered all of a sudden? Could Veronica have been right? Does he still have a crush on Keith Kogane?

 

No. No way. No way.

 

—

This is a stupid idea. Isn’t it? Yeah, it is. Fuck.

 

It turns out Shiro’s a bigger idiot than Keith had ever thought possible, and he should never take advice from the man who had first asked Curtis out by sending his arm across to him with a note that said, _I_ _find_ _you_ _dis_ - _arming_. Keith still remembers his backup plan had been to offer to bench press Curtis. So in conclusion he wonders why he ever takes advice about boys from Shiro.

 

Why did Keith take that suggestion to invite Lance to his shack for pizza? Why the fuck did he do that?

 

That impulsive side he thought he’d squashed in his teenagerhood had come back with a vengeance as he’d dialled Lance’s number and then waited anxiously for him to pick up.

 

“Yeah?” Lance has answered after the fourth ring.

 

Keith had paused. “Uh, hey, Lance.”

 

“Keith, hey! What’s up?”

 

Keith’s eyes had grown dreamy and unfocused. Ugh, fuck, he even loved that voice.

“N-nothing, I just.”

 

 _Crap_ , _what_ _did_ _Shiro_ _say_ _to_ _say?_

 

“Was just wondering if maybe you’d like to come over? We can get pizza.”

That was what Shiro had said to say, but it sounded too much like a proposition for a date when Keith said it.

 

“Come over, to your shack? Where’s that again?”

 

Keith had told him and waited for the sting of rejection. Honestly, it was stupid, and he had half-hoped Lance would say no even though the other half would be heartbroken.

 

“Well, you did say there’d be pizza, so. I’m there!” Lance had responded.

 

Keith had paused. “Wait - really?”

 

“Keith, you invited me over for pizza. As long as there’s the promise of pizza, I’ll go anywhere. I’d walk straight into that one haunted airport in Denver for pizza.”

 

Keith laughed and his heart had plummeted. “Alright, well. I’ll see you soon.”

 

Then they’d hung up and Keith had sat up on the lone couch in the living area, looking around the tiny room and shuddering. Yeah, that was a bad idea.

 

—

 

Now Keith sits in the same spot on the couch, doing nothing. His nerves are shot to death and it’s only been five minutes since they hung up their call.

 

There’s a knock at the door and Keith jumps up - it’s either the pizza guy or Lance. He prays that it’s the pizza guy, but like he’d already established, the universe hates him.

 

Lance is standing at the door wearing light blue jeans, a button-up with the sleeves twisted up to the middle of his arms, and a tentative smile. The smile grows a bit bigger when Keith pulls the door open.

 

“Hey, Keith.” Lance says, and Keith reaches to take his hand, brings him closer and kisses his cheek. Because he can. “Just in case there are paparazzi.” he adds, lying.

 

Lance nods. And then his tentative smile turns into a smirk. “How bout _this_ , then?”

 

Keith nearly tumbles to the floor when Lance yanks his arm and dips him, then leans down and presses their lips together before quickly throwing him back up.

 

Keith’s breath is, simply put, gone.

 

Lance’s hand is still on his waist, making Keith cover it with his own hand. Then the pressure is gone with an abrupt clearing of Lance’s throat.

 

“Uhm. So. You said you have pizza?”

 

Keith nods. “Right.”

 

They go into the shack and Keith gestures to it all. “Welcome back,”

 

Lance puts a hand to his face as he surveys the barren mess. “Yeah, I remember it was a fixer-upper that looks like it hasn’t been fixed up since you were born.”

 

Keith’s hand shove into his pockets. “Yeah, well. I kind of like it like this.”

 

Lance’s ass hits the couch. “It’s nice. Not much, but if it’s your home, then screw what I think.”

 

Keith says nothing.

 

“You got any soda or something?” Lance asks suddenly.

 

“No... I have water though,”

 

“Can I have some?”

 

Keith’s teeth grit at the awkwardness of it all. Everything feels so stuttered and forced between them, and this is when it’s supposed to be the most organic. How is it easier to pretend that they’re together than to actually be friends?

 

He obliges Lance the water and prepares for an excruciatingly awkward silence as they wait for the pizza guy. The couch is pretty small, leaving not much room between them as Keith sits across from Lance. He normally loves a good golden silence, but this one is painful. And, honestly, he wants to hear Lance’s voice.

 

Just then Kosmo falls to the ground out of the air and lands gracefully on his feet in the kitchen. Keith looks over and grins. “Come here, boy!” He pats his lap enthusiastically. Kosmo might be his saving grace in this instance, as both Lance and Keith love him. Without hesitation like always, Kosmo rushes through a portal and falls into his lap. He’s huge, but most of that is fluff, and maybe it’s one of his magical properties but Kosmo doesn’t feel like he weighs much more than he did as a puppy.

 

Lance watches incredulously as Keith starts to run his hand through Kosmo’s mane, the wolf’s eyes closing briefly with each stroke.

 

“He’s like your little baby,” he remarks. His gaze has gone soft now, but Keith’s eyes are still on Kosmo.

 

“I mean, he’s a wolf, but yeah.”

 

The silence that floods back now is nothing like the last one. Then the pizza guy ruins it.

 

Curses bounce around Keith’s head as Lance gets up to answer the knock.

 

The teenager at the door stands struggling to hold up the weight of a large pizza, and his expression reads only annoyance and strain before he sees Lance in the doorway.

 

“Whoa, are you Lance McClain?” he asks, incredulous.

 

Keith can just hear the smirk in Lance’s voice when he answers, “The one and only,”

 

“Oh, wow! Wait’ll the guys hear that I delivered a pizza to Lance McClain!”

 

“Can I have my pizza or do you want my autograph or something? Kinda hungry here.”

 

Keith can’t help but smile at that. Kosmo looks up at him instinctively then, as if he can sense the love his owner is harbouring in his heart for the lanky, flirty man on the porch of his house. He very well might be able to — Kosmo’s somewhat telepathic. He can understand and distinguish between Keith’s moods just by making physical contact with him.

 

Lance comes back inside with the pizza then. Keith intently watches his biceps bulge as he carries the food over to the coffee table before the couch. A dark blush floods Keith’s face. That’s all the farming he’s been doing — Keith’s mind wanders from him, imagining all the hoeing and raking and planting and watering and milking, with Lance bending over, the small of his back exposed, sometimes taking his shirt off because it’s too hot, wiping the sweat from his brow —

 

He’s startled when Lance reaches over and grabs a slice of pizza out of the box. He’s looking expectantly at Keith. “You gonna take some?”

 

“Uh. Yeah.” Keith stammers in return. He grabs his own slice and starts to eat it — but Lance is staring at him like he’s from another planet. (Well - never mind).

“What?”

 

Lance splutters. “Why the heck are you eating it like that?”

 

“Like what?”

 

Lance rotates his pizza so he can demonstrate the way Keith’s eating his — from the crust down, like always. Keith’s shrugs. “I don’t know. I’ve always eaten it like that.”

 

“That’s not how normal people eat pizza!”

 

He seems outraged. It’s kind of funny, actually.

 

Keith chuckles a bit. “Do I have to be normal? That’s so boring.”

 

“Well, if you wanna be weird, then you’re totally on the right path,” Lance murmurs.

 

Keith smiles at him, chomps another bite of the crust. “You’re not normal, though, either, Lance.” he tells him.

 

When Lance’s eyes widen Keith goes on,

“You’re unique. You’re still my right hand man, and I bet if you got behind a gun you would still be a great sharpshooter.”

 

Lance pauses for a second, looks down at his slice. “Thanks, Keith.” he says finally. “I don’t know if I believe it, though. All I am now is a farmer. I mean - I love the quiet life, but-“

 

Keith shakes his head. “No, you’re not just a farmer. You’re Lance fucking McClain — you’re famous. People want autographs from you.”

 

“Yeah, but I got here because of you.”

 

“Come on, Lance, seriously? You were famous from the beginning. I had nothing to do with that. Remember the Voltron Show? I heard about that even on the Blade base.”

 

“Loverboy Lance _was_ one of the most popular characters,” Lance agrees.

 

How is it that Lance, one of the most amazing people he’s ever known, depends on the approval of others for his self-esteem?

 

 _Fuck_ , Keith thinks, staring down at his pizza, _he_ _must_ _not_ _know_ _how_ _to_ _love_ _himself_.

 

He’d never known the pain of someone he loves not loving themselves until he’d fallen for and observed Lance.

 

But he can’t say anything about it here. Knowing Lance, he’ll probably brush it off and say he does love himself, and hasn’t Keith seen his self-confidence? But self-confidence and projecting bravado are two different things.

 

Funnily enough, it’s Krolia who had first noticed this. In the Quantum Abyss they’d been subjected to many visions from the past and future, and one of the ones from the past had been Lance flirting with numerous locals of one of the planets Voltron had landed on — Keith had remembered watching Lance wistfully on more than one occasion.

 

Afterwards, Krolia had folded her arms. “Is he always like this?”

 

“Yeah,” Keith had nodded, “pretty much.”

 

“It’s so annoying.”

 

Keith had spread his arms. “Exactly!”

 

“Yes, anyone who puts themselves forth so insistently, like him, isn’t confident about themselves.” Krolia had mused then as she’d sat down on a rock and began petting Kosmo’s fur.

 

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Keith had argued. “You don’t have self-confidence, so you flaunt yourself?”

 

Krolia had nodded. “I saw it with many of the Blades I trained. Many acted cocky when in fact they hid insecurities. Perhaps they wanted to make it seem as though they were more bold so that they grew to believe it, themselves.”

 

Keith had fallen silent then, so Krolia added, “Perhaps your friend wants to grow to love himself and so he wishes for others to love him first.”

 

Keith thinks about that now. As far-fetched as it had seemed at the time, now it makes sense. Besides, he’s grown to trust motherly wisdom.

 

Ideally what he’d love to do is grab Lance by the collar of that sun-bleached shirt, watch as his startled brown eyes stare at him, tell him just how _achingly_ much he’s loved, and then push him into the back of the couch, kissing him into oblivion.

 

Yeah, _that’s_ realistic.

 

He settles instead for taking another bite of his pizza, his other hand stroking Kosmo’s fur again.

 

—

 

Lance has another couple of slices after that, Keith only sticking with the one, and soon they challenge each other to a pizza eating contest to see who can finish it fastest and with how many slices under their belts.

 

The cocky grin Lance shoots Keith as he prepares to stuff his face is exactly what Keith misses about him.

 

“Go!” Keith growls, and they’re off, folding as many slices of pizza as can be allowed into their hands before the other person can get any more. Keith ends up with five slices — he begins to eat them straightaway.

 

Pretty soon one slice is gone, crust and all — but Lance is quickly catching up, sneering menacingly. Keith snorts and almost chokes at the look on his face but keeps going frantically. Lance keeps cramming two slices at a time into his mouth like this is that marshmallow internet challenge Keith’s dad told him was around when he was a kid — and then Keith swallows his fifth slice and throws his hands up, mouth full.

 

“Yeah!” he exclaims. His gaze trails over to Lance, whose slices are falling out of his mouth in shock.

 

“Wha- no way! I want a rematch!”

 

Keith crosses his arms proudly. “Nah, sorry. No more pizza.”

 

Lance’s cheeks are pink. He swallows the chewed-up pizza left in his mouth. “Well, I had two slices before that, so. You can’t expect me to be prepared for this kind of competition. I was already full before this.”

 

Keith grins. “Right. Sure, Lance.”

 

Then the atmosphere shifts like in a fucking Disney movie. They’re sitting there across from each other on the couch and watching each other. Keith’s heart picks up pounding as he thinks about how easy it would be to lean in. Slowly lean in, and Lance would react maybe and lean in too and then slide his hands over Keith’s face, stroke the loose hair on the sides of his face and pull him in for a brief kiss, this one real, no witnesses, no nothing.

 

Why the fuck does his brain keep betraying him like this?

 

In fact he feels himself leaning towards Lance almost subconsciously, then all of a sudden Lance is up and on his feet.

 

“Well, this. This was cool.”

 

“Yeah,” Keith agrees, nodding. He clasps his arms with his hands and looks up at Lance. Kosmo stares up at him. He’d barely caught himself after that slip-up. There’s nothing but awkwardness in here now.

 

“Thanks for the pizza,” Lance continues. He’s not moving though, so Keith gets up too.

 

The weirdest thing happens in Lance’s brain, and it scares him. He imagines a scenario where he kisses Keith, here and now. It sort of mirrors scenes from romantic movies he’s watched over the course of his life - grabbing the other person exasperatedly and dragging them into his lips... their own initial shock would wear off after only a few seconds and then they’d respond and it would be perfect.

 

Lance’s face goes red.

 

Keith tilts his head, noticing. “What’s up?”

 

“Uh. Nothing. I just remembered I have to be somewhere,” Lance stammers in return. He almost trips on his hurry to the door, and Keith watches, bemused, as he lets himself out. “Bye, Keith!”

 

“Bye,” Keith repeats softly.

 

He turns to Kosmo, silence thick in the air. “What the hell just happened?”

 

Kosmo shakes his head. _I_ _really_ _have_ _no_ _idea_ , he echoes in Keith’s mind, _Can_ _I_ _eat_ _his_ _crusts_?

 

“Yeah, go ahead.” Keith waves an arm, gives Kosmo permission to eat the crusts Lance had refused to eat.

 

For the time being Keith will take Lance’s word for it - that he does have something going on. But there’s a nagging feeling, like there always is, that maybe Lance doesn’t want to be around him when they’re not in public. That actually hurts Keith’s heart.

 

He crosses his arms. He’s dealt with rejection before - from Lance, actually. This is probably just that. He can handle it again, as long as he doesn’t let himself get too close.

 


	9. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the truth floweth forth.

“Guess who’s number five on the Sexy List??”

 

Keith knows without looking that it’s Ezor backing up into his shoulder as he minds his own business pitching a shelter for the tiny locals of the planet they’re on.

 

“Not going to guess because I honestly don’t care,” he responds.

 

“Ugh, moody,”

 

“Yeah, whatever. Can’t I just pitch my tent in peace?”

 

“Come on, Keeefy. Don’t you want to know?”

 

Keith can barely see her in his peripheral, but hears paper flapping in her arms and knows she’s probably flourishing a magazine around. “No.”

He told himself he’d push down his love for Lance again as much as possible and part of that is avoiding thinking about him when they’re not together. That way he’ll feel less pain that they’re not actually a couple. In his kind of Keithish logic, this makes sense.

 

“Well, your boyfriend is beating you on the list, so. Guess your mission is pretty much accomplished.”

 

He doesn’t at all expect to hear that.

 

His head whips around to see Ezor’s smug face looking down at the crisp pages of the magazine.

 

“What? He is?”

 

She nods. “Yeah. But you said you didn’t want to see that, so I’ll keep it to myself.”

 

Keith’s zipped to a place over her shoulder before she can say anything else. He peers down, eyes searching over the pages until there, at the top, he spots -

 

 _Number_ _Five_ : _Lance_ _McClain_ , _22_.

 

and then lower down is

 

 _Number_ _Eight_ : _Keith_ _Kogane_ , _23_.

 

Keith sighs in apparent relief that finally, _finally_ , they’ve come to their senses. “Wow, I can’t believe it took them so long to realize Lance is more sexy than me.”

 

“I know, right. Looking at you makes my eyes seriously bleed.” Ezor comments. “But that might be because my heart belongs to someone else, someone decidedly not male.”

 

Keith only glares at her for a second before his gaze returns to the picture of Lance on the page. “God, he’s so beautiful,” he blurts, but only because it’s true.

 

“Yeah, but be careful, there, Romeo,” Zethrid says as she comes up behind them. “He can break up with you now if he wants to.”

 

“Do you think he will?”

There’s a pang of something in his heart, even though he promised himself he wouldn’t let this happen. He’s in love with Lance, and he’d let himself go quite enough. He can’t afford to get any more affected.

 

“I’m afraid there’s a possibility,” Acxa says. She comes around so she can look in Keith’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Keith.”

 

He shakes his head. “No. It’s fine. I don’t care. He can break up with me if he wants. I’ll be fine.”

He feels exactly the opposite of what’s coming out of his mouth. It’s all too real now.

 

And then he turns around to grab his mallet again so he can whack the nail down into the ground and hope the sound is loud enough that he drowns out his own tears — but comes face to face with a reporter. She’s a native of the planet - a lizard-like creature with lipstick and glasses. The reporter kind.

 

He goes completely white. She’s heard everything.

 

“Uh,” he stammers, and gets one second before she inhales and barrages him with questions.

 

“Keith, what did Zethrid mean by saying Lance can break up with you now?” she asks, thrusts the microphone in his face while the cameraman dangles his camera over her shoulder. Keith blinks.

 

“Is she implying that Lance was only dating you for the fame? That now that he has a higher position, you can no longer be a couple? What do you have to say about this?”

 

Keith can’t find the words, and that’s all the more incriminating. “I - I.”

 

Meanwhile Ezor and Zethrid seem to be dealing with a crowd of other paparazzi that no one had noticed standing off to the side, while Acxa is also standing stock still. It seems awkwardness runs in the family.

 

So the reporter rounds on her. “And you - Acxa. Your supposed relationship with Keith, was that all fake too?”

 

It’s all unraveling. Fuck, there it all goes.

 

“It was all false,” Acxa replies, nerves causing her to spill the truth. “I was never with Keith. I am his cousin.”

She shoots him an apologetic glance like she has no control over what she’s saying. “I am so sorry, Keith.”

 

The reporter’s microphone wheels around to Keith now. She’s frowning determinedly, and Keith knows he’s doomed. “Is this true?”

 

“Shit, I -“

Fuck, he can’t say anything.

 

Ezor, who’s much more experienced at handling paparazzi, moves in front of him at last. “Fuck off,” she tells the reporter, leaning down to her level. “So what if it’s true? You know what? It doesn’t matter. In fact, this’ll probably make everyone a lot more popular.”

 

Finally Keith finds his voice, and what comes out of his mouth shocks even him. He’s almost certain the monologue of snapping contains insults directed at all of the paparazzi — he hadn’t realized he’d needed to get all of it off his chest until this moment. He’s quite content to keep going but someone drags him away before the other locals of the planet, innocent refugees, get an earful of colourful diction.

 

—

 

“What the hell _happened_ back there?” Ezor demands, her face showing her shock. She, Acxa, Zethrid and Keith are in their shared quarters near the temporary Blade base, having retreated back there in a hurry to escape the paparazzi. Keith sits on his bed, dazed.

 

“I don’t know, but that was awesome,” Zethrid laughs as she punches Keith’s shoulder. “Dude, I didn’t know you had that in you.”

 

“I-I - What did I even say?”

His voice is hazy and hoarse. Evidently he’d yelled a lot. He feels drunk. Drunk on emotion.

 

Acxa comes over to sit beside him, her hand on his shoulder. “Something along the lines of quite a lot of insults geared toward the paparazzi. I believe you called the reporter a - Ezor, what was it?”

 

“A prying bitch,” Ezor provides happily. “That, I remember.”

 

“Right. And then you demanded why it all matters, and told them the only reason this had to happen was because, and I quote - the damn people who make that damn list are damn blind to Lance’s damn beauty.”

 

Keith’s hands hide his face. “Oh, fuck. I said that?”

 

“Yeah... you pretty much exposed everything. Keith, what happened to you?”

There’s pressure on the other side of the bed as Ezor sits down.

 

“I don’t know,” Keith answers helplessly. “It’s like I just blew up.”

 

“Is this because of how you feel about Lance?” Acxa asks gently, and then emotions gust out of him again, this time in the form of messy tears and heaving shoulders.

 

The tears come slow at first, but then he lets himself go. He’s not eighteen anymore, hiding his emotions like something to be ashamed of. “I love him. You have no fucking clue how much I love him. I’ve loved him for so long, I can’t even explain how I feel about him.”

They already know that, but he continues, “And it fucking sucks when you have to pretend to be in a relationship with someone, knowing it’s fake but aching for them anyway. And every time they touch you you _melt_ into it and you _wish_ it was real and it kills you inside. He doesn’t love me, and I’ve known that forever. I wish I could get over it but it feels like it keeps coming back to get me.”

His chest is heaving but he’s not even embarrassed, because the girls are fading away and it feels like, in a weird way, he’s telling this to Lance, himself. He remembers all the kisses Lance gave him in public, like a film reel. He grimaces. “Every time he kissed me, he was just acting. I used to think we could just be friends, that I could settle for being his best friend, but it hurts too much.”

 

“But not knowing him would hurt more,” Acxa says sagely, and she’s right there again. The bedroom reappears.

 

He nods wearily. “Yeah. I guess.”

 

“I don’t know if what you’re saying is entirely true, though.” Ezor adds. “I think Lance likes you.”

 

Keith almost laughs. “What? Seriously?”

 

“No, I’m actually serious. Like the way he looks at you in all the pictures they have of you is pretty suspicious.”

 

“I don’t believe it.” Keith tells her. He can’t cling onto hope now. He can’t ever do it again. It’ll just hurt him more. “He doesn’t like me, and I’m fine with that.”

 

“Well, why don’t you find out? Call him.” she suggests next.

 

Keith’s eyes narrow. “I don’t. I can’t. He doesn’t like me, okay. End of story. I don’t want to hear his voice right now.”

So that was a fucking lie. “And he’ll probably hate me after this. I don’t know how you think this will make us any more popular.”

 

He doesn’t want to hear any more, which the telephone ringing in his pocket doesn’t seem to understand.

 

Keith doesn’t move. He just wants to sink into oblivion and die.

 

But for whatever reason he autonomously answers the damn phone.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Keith, what the hell?! I just saw the breaking news.” Lance shrieks. “You completely ruined everything!”

 

Keith’s heart sinks into his stomach, where it’s torn apart. “I know.” he says. His tone is flat. He’s come to terms with what’s going to happen next.

 

He appreciates the fact that the girls move into another room to give him his privacy.

 

“Why did you do that? I was just starting to gain an edge over you, and you-“

 

Keith has no control over the anger returning. “What do you mean, you _just_ started getting popular? Lance, we’ve been doing this for a year! A whole year! It’s been torture!”

 

Oh, fuck. No, this isn’t happening.

 

“Torture? What are you talking about? I asked you if you were uncomfortable with it at the beginning, didn’t I?”

Lance’s voice is tinged with confusion, which breaks Keith’s already-broken heart. “I’m sorry if dating me has been rough on you, okay, but it’s just been in public! If you were sick of me, why didn’t you just say something?”

 

“No, I didn’t mean - You don’t understand- I meant-“

 

“No, I think I get it. Everyone I’ve ever dated got sick of me. I’ve got that down pat.”

The ugly bitterness and hurt in his voice are just slicing their way up and down Keith’s body. “Keith, why, though? I thought we were friends. The other day, when I came over, I saw a bit of how we used to be and I missed that so much. But I don’t know if I can even be friends with you anymore, dude.”

 

“Lance, please, I, let me -“

He’s desperate — he doesn’t know where all this is coming from, and despite everything he knows Acxa’s right — losing Lance would be even worse than just being his friend. It’s now or never?

 

“I love you.”

 

Yeah, he’s said it. This isn’t some insane dream or weird nightmare, he’s said it. It’s real life.

 

He can’t give Lance a chance to say anything else. “Look, I’ve been in love with you for a long time, okay? Since before any of this. Since we were first paladins. And I’ve tried I hide it, but it hurt every time you would flirt with girls and Allura. I always tried to force it down and just be your friend. I was happy to do that. Even when you were with Allura, I was there for you. I didn’t mind it. My heart was breaking, but I didn’t mind it. That’s what I meant by torture, Lance. Loving you is torture. And I don’t fucking know why I’m even telling you right now, because I’m just making a fool of myself, and it doesn’t even matter. Then this whole fake relationship happened and I don’t even know why I agreed to go along with it, honestly. I’m too weak for this. It was great, but remembering you don’t like me back every time you kissed me hurt me more than anything I’ve ever gone through before. You know what, Lance? I hate this.”

He’s spitting it all out. “You can hate me or whatever. I hope you find happiness with someone else. And if anything else, I hope this makes you so popular you have to mow the paparazzi off your lawn.”

 

He can’t let this go on, so he hangs up. And that, he knows, is the definitive end of any kind of relationship he’ll ever have with Lance after this.

 


	10. Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance gets some much-needed advice.

The day Keith tells Lance he loves him, at least a hundred paparazzi show up at Lance’s farmhouse and question him as he’s watering his juniberries. They ask him stuff like, “Was it really all fake?” and “Were you lying to us the whole time?”, which Lance surprises himself by ignoring. This will for sure get the publicity he wanted. He’s not sure he wants it anymore.

 

It’s a weird feeling. There’s regret. There’s some relief. His feelings don’t match what’s in his head. Why is he relieved? What does he regret?

 

Rachel is shocked, of course. She calls him on her way to the house, having just watched the news. “It was all fake?!”

 

“Yeah,”

 

“But - how? Why? You didn’t - did you use him to get more popular or something?”

 

Lance says nothing. He’s examining a flower in his hands. He’s been looking at it for twenty minutes now for some reason.

 

“And why did he expose you? Did you plan that too?”

 

“Are you driving?”

 

“Lance, this is important! This means I might have a shot at him now!”

 

There’s a weird feeling of disgust that bubbles up in him at that. He scoffs. “You’re so gross, you know that? He’s gay. Stay away from him.”

 

“Okay, damn. Are you in a mood or something?”

 

He can’t handle this right now. He’s just going to be blunt. “He just told me he loves me. Like, for real. So cut the crap.”

 

“I’m on my way.” she responds, and hangs up.

 

—

 

“This is like the plot of some kind of rom-com,” Veronica murmurs. She’s sitting cross-legged behind Lance, concentrating on braiding one of his strands of hair.

 

He smacks her hand away. “Will you stop that?”

 

Rachel’s got her arms crossed, leaning back against the kitchen table. “This is confusing as hell. Rewind.”

 

Lance sighs and obliges, telling her the whole story again. Rachel’s eyes flash as she switches her gaze to Veronica. “You started it all!”

 

Veronica shrugs. “Guilty as charged.”

 

“And you didn’t let me in on it?”

 

“Rach, you can’t keep a secret to save your life,” Veronica points out. She’s standing up now to assert her dominance.

 

“Look, none of this matters right now!” Lance interrupts. “I feel so confused. Like, this never happens in rom-coms.”

 

“I called it, though. I knew Keith liked you.” Veronica says. “He and Acxa are terrible at hiding their crushes. I guess it runs in the family.”

 

“Well, I never saw it!”

 

“That’s because you’re an oblivious piece of shit,” Rachel tells him, “but besides that, I’m kind of not surprised now that Keith blew up like that. He said it was torture being with you?”

 

“Yeah, but I thought he meant that he hated being with me in general.”

Lance smacks his forehead. “I’m such a moron.”

 

Rachel nods. “Yeah, you are. Shame on you. Now you guys can’t even stay friends.”

 

“I’m just so confused - how did I never notice anything? How come he didn’t tell me?”

 

“Doesn’t he have rejection issues?” Veronica asks.

 

Lance remembers then how Keith had said he can’t get close to people because his mother left him, way back in his vlog on the castleship. His heart sinks. “Yeah. He does.”

 

“And you’re like the most tactless guy ever. You probably flirted with a million girls in front of him.” Rachel adds.

 

“Don’t rub it in,” Lance snaps. “Shoot, I don’t even remember what I told him.”

 

Rachel sits on the table now, feet dangling. “You’ve gotta fix it now.” she tells him.

 

“There’s no way that’s gonna happen. You think he’ll want to be near me again after this? I wouldn’t blame him if he never wants to be friends again. I’ve been in love with someone who is in love with someone else. It sucks.”

 

“Do you like him back?” Veronica asks suddenly.

 

Lance’s eyes widen. “What does that have to do with anything?”

 

“Do you?”

 

Lance pauses. Does he? He thinks back on everything, really thinks. There were so many instances where his heart had beat slightly faster when he’d kissed Keith to play up the relationship, how he’d entirely loved the way they’d been able to compete again with the pizza the other day, how the thought of Keith with anyone else kind of rubbed him the wrong way. But even before that, there was —

 

The time Keith had held his hand after that battle with Sendak with the intention of pulling him up, but Lance had stayed on the ground and smiled at him. There was a reason he pretended not to remember that.

 

Then there was the time they’d thrown spore balls at each other - Lance had been so bent on getting Keith’s attention that he’d hit Shiro twice in the process of trying to hit him.

 

Always trying to one-up Keith and thinking it was the other way around.

 

The way he’d felt when Keith left the team.

 

The way he’d felt when Keith had come back all buff.

 

That time he’d almost stopped Keith from going after Acxa, even though any one of them would have done it anyway.

 

And he’d never quite known why or how he’d recognized Keith from his mullet alone, because that whole rivalry was completely made up.

 

Maybe he _did_ have a crush on Keith back at the Garrison.

 

“Lance?” Veronica says. Her voice echoes in his ears. He looks up at her, epiphanying. “I don’t know,” he responds, and that’s the truth.

 

—

 

Keith expects his heart to give him a break and let him get over Lance already, but just like it has since the bonding moment, somehow it doesn’t want to let him live.

 

So for the next few months and as Lance becomes even more popular somehow while Keith fades into the background finally, Keith goes on loving him. 

 

Still.

 

Why, he doesn’t know. This might be the most illogical thing he’s ever experienced.

 

The most puzzling thing to him is that Lance remains single through it all. He could so easily take a girlfriend or something, but no. In spite of his rising fame.

 

Keith still gets harassed by paparazzi from time to time, but avoids the news mostly and just continues with his missions. The best thing for him at the moment is to just focus on that old Blade mantra - “Don’t let emotions get in the way of the mission.”

 

So he pockets everything he feels and things start to go back to the way they were. Normal. Except not. To a certain extent Keith has to wear a mask around the public in order to pretend he’s not still emotionally affected by everything. He still hasn’t quite come to terms with the fact that he and Lance will never be friends again the way things are currently going, and he doesn’t want to face that. It’s awful to think about.

 

So he doesn’t.

 

—

 

It doesn’t take long for Lance to blow it all.

 

—

 

He comes to a realization a few months after everything, grabbing hold of Veronica so he can tell _someone_ , not realizing the window in the kitchen is open.

 

“What? What is it?” she asks, worried, sitting down across from him. “Are you okay?”

He’d called her in the middle of a date with Acxa, and at first she’d been annoyed but when Lance had explained the gravity of the situation she’d rushed over.

 

“I think I realized something,” Lance says. His eyes are wide and he’s nodding to himself.

 

“Okay..? Does this involve Keith?”

 

“Yeah. Roni, at the risk of sounding like I just came off the set of Jerry Macguire — I think I like him.”

 

“Well, it’s about fricking time!” Veronica grins. “How long’s it been? Ten years? What made you get your head out of your ass?”

 

Lance frowns. “Hey, it wasn’t an easy thing to realize, okay?”

 

“For me, it was! I’ve known it since you were a preteen! _I_ could’ve told you you like him!”

 

“Yeah, well, it’s too late, anyway. I should’ve realized this back when we were fake-dating or something.”

 

Veronica shrugs. “Yeah. You should’ve.”

 

“So no sisterly advice?” Lance asks. “That’s it? You’re not going to help me here?”

 

“I’m not sure there’s anything I can help you with. You gotta figure out how to do this yourself. And you’ve gotta be prepared to accept that he might not want to be with you.”

 

“Yeah. You’re right.” Lance agrees reluctantly. She is right. “I did this, didn’t I?”

 

“Yup. You did. And you know you need to fix it. Somehow. If that’s even possible.”

 

Lance nods. But the paparazzi agent crouching below his window with a tape recorder gets to that before he can.

 

—

 

Keith’s tending to a wounded young Arusian when Ezor slides over, her phone in her hand. “Keith, you’ve gotta hear this,”

 

“Just a sec,”

Keith finishes, wrapping the young male’s wounded leg tightly with a gauze strip and grinning shortly but definitively. “All set.”

 

“Thanks, Mr. Kogane!” the boy grins back, hops slightly to get his bearing and then limps away.

 

Being on the field has made Keith some sort of medic as well as distributor of goods. There are still serious injuries to be tended to in light of the war. The damage is still lingering, like the chemicals from Chernobyl he’d learned about the week he’d dropped out of the Garrison.

 

He clears his throat and turns back to Ezor, crossing his arms now. “What is it?”

 

Ezor plugs a headphone jack into the phone and offers Keith an earbud. Not expecting much, he puts it in his right ear while Ezor takes the left, and is immediately assaulted by a loud and obnoxious news report.

 

“Ahh!” he croaks, winces, but Ezor shushes him.

 

“Breaking news today on Celebrity Gossip Daily concerning everyone’s favourite fake couple — are they really fake? People have been doubting this since Keith Kogane’s famous freak out on live TV.” a tinny female voice starts. Keith’s moves his hand to the earbud, threatening to take it out, but he stops when the woman continues, “Today, Lance McClain allegedly admitted to some _feelings_ for the former paladin of the red and black lions. Here’s a recording taken today, just hours ago - you can hear him talking to his sister Veronica -“

 

Keith’s heart starts pounding, that familiar Lance-induced pounding, as he starts to hear the poor audio, “... at the risk of sounding like I just came off the set of Jerry Macguire — I think I _like_ him.”

That’s definitely Lance. Keith’s heart leaps.

 

“Well, it’s about fricking time!” - Veronica.“How long’s it been? Ten years? What made you get your head out of your ass?”

 

“Hey, it wasn’t an easy thing to realize, okay?”

 

“For me, it was! I’ve known it since you were a preteen! _I_ could’ve told you you like him!”

 

Keith’s eyes are wide. Lance has liked him since they were preteens?

 

“Yeah, well, it’s too late, anyway. I should’ve realized this back when we were fake-dating or something.”

 

“Yeah. You should’ve.”

Keith agrees with her there.

 

“So no sisterly advice?” Lance asks. “That’s it? You’re not going to help me here?”

 

“I’m not sure there’s anything I _can_ help you with. You gotta figure out how to do this yourself. And you’ve gotta be prepared to accept that he might not want to be with you.”

 

“Yeah. You’re right. I did this, didn’t I?”

 

“Yup. You did. And you know you need to fix it. Somehow. If that’s even possible.”

 

The anchor continues, “Evidently from this private conversation, Lance feels something for Keith. It sounds pretty real to us. But that remains to be seen.”

 

Ezor yanks their earbuds out then and squeals. “Keith, he likes you!”

 

Keith rubs his ear, wincing. “How do I know that’s even real? There’s all sorts of technology out there that could’ve faked that.”

 

“Come on,”

She socks him. “Didn’t that sound real? Besides, how would anyone else know about the Garrison?”

 

Keith shrugs. “I don’t know. I mean, if it is real, he’ll have to come tell me himself. I’m not going to take the word of some Gossip Station recording.”

 

“You just watch,” Ezor tells him. “He’ll call because I’m sure he didn’t leak it willingly.”

 

—

 

Lance listens to the audio exposing him almost five times, wondering how on earth they could’ve gotten ahold of something so private.

 

And then his mother visits the farmhouse, and closes the window in the kitchen.

 

“Why don’t you ever close this window, _mijo_? It’s so cold in here!”

 

A quick apology rolls off Lance’s tongue before he realizes that window is positioned exactly where he and Veronica had been sitting when he’d told her everything.

 

He almost curses out loud.

 

“Mamá,” he starts hesitantly.

 

His mother is now bustling around brewing coffee. “Yes, Leandro?”

His Cuban given name. He still doesn’t know why they only call him Lance outside.

 

“Uh, do you watch Celebrity Gossip and stuff like that?”

If there’s one opinion he cares about the most, it’s his Mamá. It’s weird that he hasn’t talked to her about this yet. Maybe he just didn’t consider it that big a deal before, just another indication of how much of a jerk he is.

 

“No, I don’t have time for that!” she responds. “The only shows I watch right now are the ones your niece and nephew are into. But I don’t mind it. It’s just like when you and your siblings were tiny, I would watch your shows with you.”

 

Lance smiles at that, imagining her with kid Veronica, Luis, Marco and the youngest, twins Lance and Rachel. They would all be sitting on the wooden floor in front of a box tv, and maybe he and Rachel would be in Mamá’s lap.

 

“So you don’t know what’s been going on with celebrities lately?” he asks, returning to the task at hand.

 

“Sweetheart, I barely know _who_ the celebrities are right now. Why do you ask?”

 

He could just say never mind, that he’s just asking, but he needs advice. “I need advice.”

 

Mamá turns so she’s facing him - she can probably sense that this is something serious. He never used to ask for advice when he was younger, thinking he could always do it himself, not ever wanting to bother anyone, just keeping all his problems to himself. No wonder he turned out to be a jerk.

 

“What about?”

 

He’s comforted by the worry in her eyes. “Well, I’m a celebrity.”

 

“Oh, you mean like when you were a paladin?” Mamá asks.

 

“No. Well, yes. Kind of. But.”

This is going to be hard to explain. He might as well start from the beginning.

“You remember Keith?”

 

Mamá’s eyes light up. “Oh, yes! The black paladin! Oh, he was such a nice boy. Didn’t you like him when you were at the Garrison?”

 

Lance reddens. “Did _everyone_ know about that except me?”

 

“ _Sí,_ ” she says, laughing. “I think so. So what about Keith?”

 

Lance’s face warms even more when he admits, “Turns out he’s been in love with me for a long time, and I never knew? And I, Uh. I might have ruined everything?”

 

He’s never seen her more excited than now. “He told you? Oh, _mijo_ , this is amazing! What did you say? You love him back?”

 

“No, I’m not sure if I love him, Mamá... I’m not even sure if he’ll want to be with me at all after what happened.”

 

“What happened?”

 

He explains everything in a ramble, and it takes what feels like an eternity. At the end of it all he expects a slap but never gets one, only a look that is half-pity, half-pride. His mother crosses the room and gets to him quickly, then envelopes him into her arms in a warm embrace, his head on her chest like when he was little. “My son,” she murmurs, kissing the top of his head. “ _Hijito_.”

 

Lance says nothing - he’d missed this kind of closure the whole time he was a paladin, and he still hasn’t recovered from the time he’d spent apart from his family.

 

After awhile she pulls him off her and looks him in the eyes. “You’ve gone and pushed away someone who loves you. You have got to fix this now. You have got to call him before that news report comes out.”

 

“That’s what Rachel and Veronica told me,” Lance complains.

 

“Well, that means I’ve raised some smart girls!” Mamá says proudly. “But I wouldn’t tell you this if I didn’t want what is best for you, Lance. I know a thing or two about you, my son. Things that you don’t even know yourself. And I can see that your feelings for Keith run deeper than you think.”

 

Lance grimaces. “You think?”

 

“I know.”

She pats him abruptly on the back. “Now call him. Before you can back out of it.”

 

—

 

Keith’s cell rings. He answers it, lying on his couch with Kosmo sprawled against his chest. “Yeah?”

 

“Keith? Don’t hang up, I need to tell you something.”

 

Keith’s eyes widen and his face warms. “Lance?”

 

—


	11. Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our boys are finally together :,)

  * “Lance?” 



 

“Yeah. It’s me. Keith, I - I’m sorry.”

 

Keith’s shaking his head. He sits up, forgetting Kosmo’s there, and causes the wolf to teleport away and into the other room. “Don’t, Lance. It’s okay.”

He just can’t hear an apology. If it’s all supposed to be over, he can’t let himself find any more reason to stay in love.

 

“No, it’s not. Look, I’m pretty oblivious, I guess? I don’t notice the important things, and when we were paladins I had a lotta things on my mind. One of the biggest ones was my family, so I really didn’t think much about other stuff.”

 

“Lance, I-“

He wants desperately to interrupt Lance, stop him talking, because if he lets Lance go on Keith’s going to be too far gone for him in a minute.

 

“Keith, let me finish.”

 

“Was what you said on the news real?” Keith cuts him off. That’s the one thing he needs to know.

 

He kind of hopes it’s been doctored. If it’s fake, then the no from Lance will be simple, something final, and he can hang up on him.

 

Maybe his hope is dwindling.

 

But Lance says, too loudly, “Yes, it is real. I was talking to Veronica, and they snuck our conversation, and -“

 

Keith freezes. “You’re not messing with me?”

 

“No, of course not. Keith, I know it’s stupid and it sounds really bad, but I think you telling me you loved me made me realize I like you.”

 

Keith pauses, only thinking to correct, “Love,”

 

“What?”

 

“Love. You said loved.”

 

“You still -“

 

It’s like Keith’s caught between caring and not giving a shit. “Yeah.”

 

“I’m sorry,”

 

A thoughtless laugh bubbles out of Keith. “Yeah. You should be.”

 

“Look, Keith, I-“

 

“It happened, Lance. It’s over with. Forget it.”

 

All of a sudden he doesn’t want to hear an apology, or listen to whatever Lance says happened next, or what. He never did want to go the long way around things. But he’s right - the long way’s more torturous.

 

“Uh, so. Are we - friends?”

 

That weird ache in his heart comes back. “I don’t know.”

 

“Well, can we be more, then?”

It’s so hesitant and so faint.

 

“More?” Keith asks blankly. “You want to be more?”

 

“I kind of do. Like, I want to try this again, except not fake this time. I. It’s stupid. It’s cheesy. You don’t have to -“

 

By Keith’s smiling. Fuck, he has absolutely no control. “I guess we could try.” he says. “One condition.”

 

“What?”

 

“Can I be the boyfriend this time?”

 

—

 

Keith and Lance’s first real date is directly opposite to their first fake date - it’s quiet and private, ensuring nobody can be watching or recording them. Lance had his turn - now it’s Keith’s.

 

Keith meets Lance at the farmhouse while he’s outside milking Kaltenecker. To Lance’s tentative grin he gives a slow smile and a small wave before opening the gate and stepping into the garden. Walking over to the cow, he strokes a hand over her glossy black-and-white parched back and smiles wider when she lows in response. “Hey, girl,” he says gently.

 

Lance has stopped his milking and is peering at him from under his sun hat. He barely looks over, finding it hard to begin maintaining eye contact again. “We’d better get inside before anyone sees us.” he murmurs to Lance.

By anyone - he means, of course, the paparazzi.

 

Lance nods quickly. “Oh, right.”

He stands up from his stool and begins to lead the way inside the farmhouse. The two are soon both safely inside with the doors locked, and Lance starts to take off his boots. “Yeah, that was a good idea. They’re all still buzzing after I accidentally confessed to you.”

 

Keith watches him straighten up, his sleeves riding up his straining forearms. “Yeah.” is all he says. He can’t concentrate. The two of them are alone together again - just like it was the day they were in Keith’s shack eating pizza. Again, Keith has forgotten how to act naturally around Lance.

 

Lance is pausing and Keith watches him unashamed, arms crossed and hips shifting weight to one side.

 

Suddenly there’s a silence. Just like so many times before, Keith’s heart hammers as he pictures kissing Lance again, only this time it’d be like something entirely new and real. In the wake of all that’s happened between them, the power of Keith’s lust almost scares him. His lips part as he regards Lance, who’s now come to face him.

 

A small smile slips across his face. “So what can I do you for, Samurai? Your ticket aboard the Lance Express has been approved.”

 

The goofy, flirty nature of the words should do anything but make Keith laugh and fall more in love but of course, that’s what it does. “Fuck, I hate you.” he says, grinning.

 

Lance’s eyes are on his lips only for a split-second before he heaves them back up to Keith’s eyes. “Then why are we on this date?” he asks teasingly, reaching out to jab his rival in the side.

 

Keith yelps, kicking out slightly. His eyes widen. He’s given away his secret.

 

“You’re... ticklish!” Lance proclaims excitedly.

 

“No. No! _No_!” Keith’s protests are no match for Lance’s willpower as he lungesacross in the entryway of the farmhouse and curls his fingers against the bit of Keith’s waist he can reach. In response Keith makes an undignified squeak and bites his lip, swatting the hand away before he can laugh out loud but at the same time leaning upward to hopefully expose more flesh for Lance to touch. That first brush of fingers had been like a taste of something — that first bite of a favourite dish or the smell of spring on the air; Keith’s never been a poetic person but he’d compare even that brief touch of Lance’s fingers to coming home, with just a twist of exhilaration and desire.

 

Of course Lance doesn’t give up. His face turns competitive - a sly grin winds its way across his face, replacing the initial cautious smile. Keith watches this, remembers the spore ball fight way back when the castleship had been up. Lance had shot him the very same look back then, right before their competitive stupor. It’s so familiar he wants to cry, but it’d look weird for him to start crying after being tickled.

 

He flashes a threatening grin back and steps back slowly and deliberately. This is such a domestic and new kind of normal. Keith loves it so far. It’s like they’re married and living a quiet life together, one where they can —

 

No. He promised himself he wouldn’t do this. But can’t he, now that they’re on a date?

 

Keith looks back over and finds that Lance is staring at him. He almost frowns. “What is it?”

 

Lance shakes his head, looking like he’s trying to rid something from his mind. “Nothing, nothing. You just - you looked kind of pretty then.”

He shrugs in embarrassment, looks down, bends to pick up a boot for the reason of distraction. “Guess I can say stuff like that now, right?”

 

Keith pauses. There’s ocean ringing in his ears. “Lance, you look... there’s. You’re pretty, too.”

 

Lance frowns. “I don’t wanna be pretty, I’m handsome!” he protests, but Keith’s gazing at him and smiling and moving and he already knows what’s going to happen next.

 

Pretty soon their eyelids are both lowered, lights dimmed, and they’re leaning toward each other slowly. Keith lips buzz with anticipation and it’s happening too slow but too fast and then there’s that final pause before Lance McClain’s beautiful lips meet Keith’s for the first time. The moment roars in their ears — it’s just slow at first, intimate, breathing hard and drags and that noise that clicks the end of one kiss and the quick transition to another.

 

And then they’re shoving shoes aside so they can hold each other close, stepping into the middle of the fray. Keith finally openly moans just a little as his hands latch onto Lance’s waist like it’s his. Lance winds his arms around Keith’s shoulders and like a limp noodle holds on, clutches his shirt loosely in one hand.

 

The kiss goes on, long and hard — tongues brush and jaws work and it feels endless. The Keith smiles in the middle of it all, licks at the lingering taste of Lance on his lips as he pulls away.

 

“That was probably the best kiss I’ve ever had,” Lance pants, releases Keith’s chest from his grasp and blushes as his hand trails through his fringe.

 

Keith shrugs. “Was okay.”

 

“Dude, you were moaning!”

Lance shoves him.

 

“Wanna do it again?”

 

Lance rolls his neck back. “ _Quiznak_ , yes.”

And so without any uncertainty, Keith begins to mark his way down Lance’s curved neck.

 

When he’s almost at Lance’s collarbone, he stops. This doesn’t feel real. But then Lance looks up at him and smiles in confusion, and he looks perfect in that moment. So Keith returns to his skin.

 

—

 

It’s not a big challenge, keeping their relationship completely secret from the public. It’s moreso a matter of not blabbing to their most gregarious friends. Keith only tells Shiro, his mother and Acxa, figuring Ezor, Romelle and Zethrid would probably run with the news. And Lance - he’s not sure who Lance tells, but when Lance wants to be discreet, he can be. Out of all his family members, only Veronica can probably keep a secret.

 

They don’t spend every waking hour together - although something in Keith aches to be with Lance all the time now that they truly belong to each other. It’s odd, thinking of Lance as his actual boyfriend now. But in the best way.

 

He and Lance agree within a few hours of that first real kiss that they shouldn’t draw too much attention to themselves in public. It would be much better to have to spend a bit of time apart than to be caught - again? There is no need for another widely publicized scandal - now that Lance has surpassed Keith in popularity, many of Keith’s regular paparazzi have taken to frequenting the outside of Lance’s farmhouse. Of course, Lance loves that attention, and gives them much to publish in magazines. But having had a taste of the famous life, Keith would rather stay out of the public eye - for the rest of his life, preferably.

 

Lance had smiled while they were discussing it, sitting separately and leaning backwards into the couch. “Maybe I should make another list, so it’s easier.” He’d suggested. Keith had laughed, but it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea now.

 

Emboldened and suddenly impulsive, Keith stares at the floor and admits, “I kinda liked everyone knowing we were together. Not because of the publicity or anything, but. I don’t know.”

 

Lance looks at him. “Because it was like being together?” he asks.

 

Keith nods. “Yeah. I think so.”

 

Without a word Lance brushes his fingers across Keith’s chin and then clutches it, leaning over to kiss his lower jaw. Keith’s face reddens and he smiles slightly. This is the only _sorry_ he’ll ever need.

 

“I think at some point we _should_ tell everyone. But I think we should only tell the people who matter first.” Lance says, nodding, pulling away from Keith to scooch closer. Keith looks back over his shoulder at him, the tension building, and watches Lance’s eyes start to ask a question. In response he moves slightly closer and nudges their shoulders together, and so Lance rests his head on Keith’s.

 

Keith’s heart leaps when Lance takes his shaking hand, linking their fingers and staring at their intertwined hands in the daylight from one of the windows in the living room. It’s almost foreign to him - this genuineness, the fact that this is now all his own and not for anyone else. He almost doesn’t know how to respond except to sink into it.

 

—

 


	12. Bonus.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys realize how gone they are for each other in a different medium.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHIROS BIRTHDAYYY What is he now, 8?
> 
> Haha anyway I wanted to give y’all a bonus because the story’s somewhat over... so enjoy!
> 
> Consider it in between chapters... feelings start to show themselves in mysterious ways

There’s a dull lamplight making the room just a bit brighter. There’s that Streetcar-named-Desire-ish haunting quality to it, as there always is in these dreams. The same room as always, with folding curtains like the ones Blanche used to hide away from Stanley. But Streetcar isn’t on Lance’s mind right now.

 

There’s a person again, shrouded by the darkness on one side of the room. He closes his eyes, waits for the familiar feel of lips against his, and then melts into the heated kiss he always has in these dreams. It always starts out with the kiss. Passion burns across his face, searing marks through his skin. His hands grasp the air aimlessly and scramble against the torso of the girl he’s kissing, slipping against the fabric of her shirt before his fingers wind around it. In the back of his lust-addled mind it occurs to him that the material is rough, not at all how soft it usually is. But he finds he doesn’t care, and in fact pulls her closer, heart soaring, daring to sweep his calloused hands beneath her shirt.

 

It’s at the moment where the other person breaks the kiss and breathes heavily that Lance happens to brush his hands against the chiseled abs and decided lack of a bra. Lance’s eyes fly open and squint to see a horribly familiar face staring back. There’s no way he wouldn’t be able to recognize that mullet.

 

“Keith?”

His voice breaks.

 

“Lance?”

To Lance’s annoyance, the sound of Keith’s voice is somewhat soothing to him.

 

There’s silence for a few seconds. Lance’s heart pounds like this is real.

 

“I’ve been kissing _you_?” Lance asks himself more than he asks Keith. Then when Keith doesn’t answer, he sits back against a bed that’s materialized there, grips the other guy by the hips and pulls him into his lap.

 

“I’m horny, so you’ll have to do.” he tells him, and leans back in to press open-mouthed kisses to what he assumes is Keith’s neck and doesn’t get a mouth full of hair even though it’s dark, his tongue searing against rough skin and popping off each time with a noise like a suction. Keith’s low moans, broken and musical, echo in his mind, and he wants Keith to fuck him up, in the barest sense of the phrase.

 

Keith stops him and his own hands are rough. Then Lance can feel a whoosh of air and some fabric brushes against his face and when he leans back in, Keith’s shirtless. He pulls back only to take his own shirt off and lets Keith lead the kissing this time - he gets it right away, a hand cradling Lance’s head and lifting him up just so as they tongue their way deep into each other’s mouthes. Lance feels amazing, cries out when Keith starts to nip down his neck in a way he’s never done before. It’s so _erotic_ that his body jumps.

 

And Keith’s hands are going everywhere and Lance is letting them roam, like he’s a mountain landscape and the hands are hikers exploring every path until they all become intimate. He’s breathless by the time Keith reaches his ... _that_ ... but instead of unbuttoning his jeans and granting him relief Keith looks up, eyes burning through the darkness, and smirks.

 

///

Lance gasps and pants as he wakes up, sits up abruptly, discovers his massive and painfully awkward boner, and lies back down. Murky details are surfacing - he’s had that dream again, and this time has been the best one yet. His heart still pounds from the sheer thrill of it - eyes in the darkness, hands roaming, those burning kisses.

 

He has to get rid of the boner before he goes out to work on the farm, and as he’s on the topic of that dream, he’s content to remember exactly how it felt. This is more than enough to get him close — the soft lips giving way to hard teeth as he’d been bitten down the neck, the open-mouthed, tongues-scraping-together kisses, the moans —

 

but then, just as he’s on the precipice of sweet relief, he remembers with shock who had been the other person in the dream - and he can’t control himself.

 

“Keith,” he whispers in shock, endorphins flooding his system and a hand gripping his hair.

 

There also was: abs, rugged fabric, a square jaw, rough hips, calloused hands - oh, and a mullet. Of course. Enough said.

 

He’s having erotic dreams about the guy he’s in a fake relationship with. Great.

 

Well, the secret can never get out. This could complicate things forever.

 

///

Keith’s dreaming, but he doesn’t know it.

 

Lance is standing in front of him, covered by darkness, eyes closed. Uninhibited Keith steals toward him as if gently pushed, licks his lips and then bites them before pressing himself into Lance. The kiss escalates quickly. Lance seems to open for him, and Keith for Lance - they’re gasping into each other’s mouthes and then Lance is reaching greedily for Keith’s shirt, hands buried in the fabric. He lets Lance pull him closer and then dip his hands inside to brush against skin. It turns Keith on quite a bit, and he’s breathing hard after only a few seconds, his breath breaking the kiss. He wants to taste more of Lance, so much more, but then everything stops and Lance just stares at him when he opens his eyes.

 

“Keith?”

 

Keith blinks, heart racing. “Lance?”

His voice breaks.

 

There’s a pause, and then -

“I’ve been kissing you?”

 

Keith says nothing. He’s practically frozen. But then Lance’s hands grip his hips and pull him in hard, and Keith’s kneeling in his lap, head tilted back.

 

“I’m horny, so you’ll have to do,” Lance murmurs, and Keith’s relief is insurmountable. And then Lance’s lips meet his neck and he moans because he firm wet pressure of his tongue is more than he can take.

 

He pushes his hands down atop Lance’s forearms and pulls back to sweep off his shirt, breathing in as the air rushes past his face. Lance does the same and then Keith’s leaning back in, helpless, cradling Lance’s face in his hands and it’s so vivid he almost cries as he leans in to kiss him again. As tenderness gives way to passion Keith revels in Lance’s sounds - tiny grunts, music - and he begins to mark down his neck in order to hear more. He’s rewarded with Lance’s yelps, transitioning to blissful moans and grunts. And then Keith’s hands are trailing everywhere he can feel - Lance’s muscled torso, arms, neck, hips, inhibited by those pants. He wants them off. That’s his primary goal.

 

But just as he’s about pull the zipper down, one hand pressed against Lance’s bicep, the dream ends.

 

Keith sweats and gasps and grunts as he comes back awake. He’s in his shack, Kosmo on the floor next to the sofa with confusion in his face as he regards his hopeless owner.

 

 _What_ _happened_?

 

Keith covers his face with his hands, burrowing heels into eyelids. “I just had a dream about Lance.” he responds.

 

 _Oh_. _I_ _see_. _It_ _looks_ _as_ _if_ _you_ _are_ _completely_ _smitten_ , _Keith_.

 

“Yeah, I know that.” Keith responds, suddenly aware of a horrible pressure in his pants. He covers his crotch with a pillow and stares at the ceiling with wide eyes. “That man is going to be the death of me.”

 

///

**Author's Note:**

> How do you show the word count???
> 
> — oof nvm
> 
> Also Keith’s theme for this entire work is Feelings for You by Lūkka — amazing song check it out


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